#mm classic survey

[arcaneauthor]

I just read your tattoos tell a Story and I got a random idea (also i love your writing) but I can see reader being friends with soap and while ghost is out on a mission (maybe solo or something) the two get a classic best friend tattoo

if you wanna use this go ahead just thought i would share

also, you dropped this 👑

Pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x Reader, John “Soap” Mactavish x reader(platonic only).

Warnings: Short intense make out session at the beginning, other than that?, fluff?, some swearing but it’s sensored.

A/n: Your comment honestly made my day🥰 thank you so much for this wonderful idea!

“Mm, I missed you.” You admit, pulling Ghost in for another kiss not caring that your breath hasn’t caught up from the last.

“Missed you too darlin’. So much.” He breathes in between pecks, grip firm on your waist. Pulling you in as if no bodily contact was enough for him. And that’s saying a lot considering how much bodily contact was occurring between you. Almost no part of your entire being was deprived of his touch at the moment. Thighs pressed against thighs, stomach against stomach, chest against chest. Not even a hair could fit in the space your bodies do not fill.

Your hands hold tightly to the short locks of his hair, black balaclava being removed in the privacy of his room in the 141’s base. Simon is starting to realize just how much he loves your hands there.

His kisses begin trailing downward, first your neck, somehow immediately hitting that pulse point that makes you squirm, before trailing lower, down your shoulder, bicep, inner elbow, forearm. He’s so thorough you’d think he was trying to memorize your whole anatomy, he probably is. Until abruptly, he stops.

You slowly blink away the haze your mind has been trapped in, confused by his mouths disappearance. “Si?”

He slowly lifts your arm by its wrist, straightening up from where he was bent slightly over.

“Whas’ this? Wasn’ here before.” And that’s when you realize what he’s looking at, the tattoo, placed towards the bottom of your forearm. You don’t know why, but for a quick second you’re worried that he might be mad about the change you made to your body without his permission. Past trauma you’d guess. But a quick look at his face and a survey of his tone tells you he’s not irritated at all, just curious. Of course he wouldn’t be, it’s Simon.

With the now known knowledge that he’s okay with it, you start to get giddy. A huge toothy smile overtaking your face. All heat from the rather intense make out session completely forgotten in the face of your excitement.

“I forgot we hadn’t told you about that!”

“We?” He questions with furrowed brows, though you ignore him.

You grab the balaclava from his bed, “Here put this on.” You shove it over his head, earning a huff from him as he had to adjust it from where it awkwardly covered his eyes, “It’d be easier if I just showed you.” All of 141 has already seen his face, though you know he’s more comfortable with it on.

You grab his hand, not allowing him time for any more questions before dragging him out the door and down the hall, until you reach the door you were looking for.

Simons head turns towards you,”Why are we at Mactavish’s room?” He asks in suspicion. What had you two idiots done?

You give him a mischievous smile and knock on the door, receiving a distinctly Irish “come in.”

You waste no time in busting through the door. Soap’s sitting on his bed watching some kind of cheesy cooking show, to which Ghost gives a slightly amused smirk under the mask. He’ll definitely be hearing about that later.

“Lt., y/n. To wha’ do I owe th-“ You don’t even let him finish the sentence

“You haven’t showed him?” You hold up your arm for emphasis.

He immediately knows what you mean,”Would’ve, if he wouldn’t of bloody left all of us for his “solo mission”.”

You both know he’s just poking fun, though it still earns him a glare from your boyfriend. Soap glares back, buts it’s all in good nature. At least you think it is.

You roll your eyes, “Alright boys, lets stop comparing sizes shall we?”

You’re not sure about Ghost, but Soap blushes and turns his head away sheepishly. Ghost does too.

“Now, back to the important stuff.” You turn towards Johnny,”Arm, now.” You demand, giving him a “come here” motion.

He leaps off the bed, rolling up his sleeve as he walks up to you with a slight childish skip to his step. He holds out his arm as if it’s show and tell. You do the same with yours. You look at each other, a sh*t-eating grin on both your faces as you try to contain your child-like giggles, before turning to gouge Simon’s reaction.

He stares at your conjoined arms with that same expressionless look to his eyes. He looks back up, flicking his gaze between you two.

There’s a tense silence.

Until

“What the f*ck is that?”

And that’s the drop of water that breaks the dam. You and Soap absolutely loose it, laughing so hard you can’t see through your tears. Forced to lean on each other for support when your knees become too weak.

“Come on Lt., ya know it’s f*ckin’ funny.” Johnny wheezes in between belted laughs, lightly patting your back.

“Yeah Si!”

He completely ignores your taunts, shaking his head as if scolding children,”Idiots, the lot of you.” He says it light enough to where you’re not worried he’s actually annoyed, before turning to leave, closing the door behind him, successfully cutting off Mactavish’s, “Ah come on Ghost, live a l-“

And if he lets out a little amused huff when he shuts the door, well, Johnny never has to know.

-+-

Later that night, in the dark safety of your own bedroom, in which Simon is staying the night, you hear a slight rumble from his side of the bed. Your eyes snap open, afraid he’s having a nightmare of some sort. Wouldn’t be the first time. Slowly, as to not startle him, you turn towards him with practiced ease, prepared to gently calm him from his panic as you always do. Until you see his expression in the dim moonlight coming from your window, eyes catching on the white of his teeth.

“You’re laughing.” You state incredulously.

“No I’m not.” He defends as if you can’t see him chuckling right in front of you

You can’t help but smile, his joy infectious,”Yes, you are. Why are you laughing?”

For a second he just continues on, not answering, until he calms himself down enough to get out-,”That d*mn tattoo.” Before desolving in deep chuckles again.

His explanation gets you tickled, so, you join him in his amusement, your laughter making his worse and vice versa. It goes on for several minutes. Just as one of you start to quiet down and you think it’s over, the other will start again, setting them both off once more

Finally, you both quiet your laughs into something softer, catching your breath.

“I knew you liked it.” You both bust into booming laughter again, even louder this time.

Heads thrown back against your pillows, your laughter descended on into the late of night.

[world-cinema-research]

“The Conversation” by Francis Ford Coppola. WEEK THREE.

Nicole Daniels

The movie “The Conversation,” written by Francis Ford Coppola, in 1974, is a cerebral psychological film set in San Fransisco, California. The film follows Harry Caul, an intel bugger who lives a lonely yet intensely obsessional life, seeming only to focus on his career and its effects on himself and others. Harry is commissioned to follow an unknown couple, with the first scene playing out in San Francisco Square, the intel guys hidden in a pioneer glass van. Below is a photo of the couple being followed by Harry and his team attached with all sorts of listening gadgets. The couple's conversation is curiously mundane. A quote that is played in Harry's head many times throughout the film is one of the women that he is surveying in this scene. In it, she and the gentleman see a homeless man on a bench, to which the woman replies " He was once somebody's baby boy". I believe this struck Harry as intimate to his own life and Coppola may potentially have been relating this homeless man with Harry's own desperation.

I found Harry, Gene Hackman's character in this film significant because his intensity seems so streamlined, he could not seem to build human relationships, yet he does portray an intense sense of consciousness and guilt towards humanity. The Los Angeles Times describes the character Harry as “Brilliant, obsessive, deeply religious and possibly damaged, Harry is a master of surveillance technology, a legend his competitors call “the best bar none.” I agree with this and found Harry’s religious element to his character surprising and possibly his connection with a feeling of solace or stability. At one point Harry goes to confession pleading with the priest to be forgiven for hurting people inadvertently and for taking the Lord's name in vain.

Below is a photo of Harry Caul and a love interest of his, Amy, (played by actress Teri Garr). This was a scene that really stood out to me. It is his birthday in this scene. Harry shows up at Amy's apartment with a bottle of wine. She asks for him to open up to her for his birthday, to tell her a secret, to which he replies "I don't have any secrets." I found this interesting because Amy, although vying for Harry's intimacy is not able to break him emotionally. This shows his possible inability to separate himself from his work or personal demons. Harry eventually leaves Amy's building. As Harry walks out the door Amy dejectedly states, "I don't think I'm going to wait for you anymore."

The film has a very dream-like state. In one scene Harry is literally in a dream talking to one of his bugging subjects, (the woman of the couple in San Fransisco Square). In this scene, he says to her "I am not afraid of death, I am afraid of murder." This stuck out as his intense fear of his subject's demise. One of Harry's "east coast colleagues" mentions in another scene as they are having drinks that Harry was once in a case in which a family was murdered after his tapes were turned in. Harry seems to have had to compartmentalize this horror. Coppola could have been relating this to the United States and the separation between what is "right" and what we turn an eye to, specifically in 1974 shown in the Watergate scandal. Below is an account of the Watergate events.

I found this quote from Rotten Tomatoes to summarize my sentiments perfectly toward this film “As a thriller alone, The Conversation would be worth our attention. But as a thriller which also expresses our actual and collective nightmares, it absolutely demands it.” (Rotten Tomatoes). At a time when Watergate and the Nixion scandal were taking place across international waters, another scandal was at the forefront in Germany where German spy Günter Guillaume, who worked with Federal Chancellor, Willy Brant, was arrested for spying and intel gathering. This scandal caused Willy Brant to step down from his role as chancellor. There is an article below of the details.

These historical events among potentially many other reasons gave Coppola a stage to highlight the importance of privacy and also the swiftness by which it can be taken. Mr. Caul's boss, who is only known as "the director" throughout the film shows the illusive nature of bugging. Many of those gathering intel may not be aware, themselves of the intelligence or damage that will be accumulated as a product of their work. Harry Caul, on the other hand, seemed very aware of his hand in the damage that he could and had caused. The nature of the character "the director" was never apparent, it seemed to be a cheating wife ordeal, with one scene Harry delusionally believing he sees the wife being murdered. The very last scene shows Harry Caul ripping his apartment to shreds, even smashing a Virgin Mary statue. Harry's religion seemed his solace, this smashing of Mary symbolically seemed to convey that all faith and solace were lost to Harry at this point. The closing scene fades with Harry playing the saxophone alone in his room, maybe Coppola's homage to the power of music, signaling it may be the only thing left to heal or comfort him.

[pumpmans]

MM CLASSIC FANDOM SURVEY RESULTS

hello everyone!! below i will disclose the results of the mm classic fandom survey from a few weeks ago... this will be a longer post so it is under a read more. thank you all for participating!

1. has the fandom played mm classic?

largely, yes! only five people haven't been able to play the games. that makes sense, i suppose, but its still interesting!

2. has the fandom read archie/ariga?

according to this survey, a large majority of people have read the archie comics, while only a slight majority have read ariga. this could likely be due to the larger access to archie as opposed to ariga, but it cant be said for certain.

3. did the fandom grow up playing the mm classic games?

for the most part, people in the fandom weren't exposed to classic between the ages of 5 and 14 (i.e., they got into the series later); though, a considerable number of people did get to see the games while they were younger. a smaller portion of people interacted with classic in other ways, such as reading the comics or watching ruby spears.

4. through what media does the fandom like to interact with classic? what is their focus?

as shown in the chart above, most people use the games as a lens to engage with the series, but this is usually supplemented with the comics or even ruby spears. notably, there were also 7 people who felt that fanmade content was crucial enough to their engagement with the series to include here. only two people felt that the bands were significant enough to shape their enjoyment of the series!

5. what is the fandom's favorite game in the series?

mm3 was voted to be the fandom's favorite game! as you can see above, the first three games in general are big favorites. interestingly, mm10 follows closely behind mm1. other games, such as powered up or megaman & bass, also make an appearance here. mm6 and mm7 arent as loved as the other games.

6. who is the fandom's favorite character?

it makes sense that mm3 was the fandom's favorite game, as blues really knocked it out of the park as the favorite character. he had 14 votes more than the characters who tied for second place! several other characters got a few points here and there, and all characters in the "other" category got one vote each. yet, i would love to highlight some of the interesting characters from that category: punk, dr wily, copy robot, evil robot, dynamoman, and many others got to be included on this list. good for them!

7. dr light or dr wily?

it was a very close tie, but dr light won in the vote between him and wily: only by 4 votes! there was a point where wily was winning, and a point where they were tied, but light came out on top.

8. what kinds of content does the fandom make?

there was a lot of variety here, but a majority of fandom members are artists! writers are also very prominent. shoutout to the one person who makes plushies... that is amazing!

9. does the fandom prefer a serious version of classic or not?

as you can see, most people in the fandom like a non-serious version of classic. they might include some serious aspects, but its largely not too dark or anything. one person focuses on the serious aspects only!

10. does the fandom ship the classic characters?

yes, the fandom does engage in shipping! there were a TON of ships, way too many to list, so i'll just mention the three couples that tied for the most votes (4 votes each): QuickElec, FreezeIce, and ShadowBlues!

11. does the fandom rp?

for the most part, the fandom doesn't rp. of the ones who do, shadowman and blues (3 votes each) are the most popular to rp as!

12. last, but certainly not least: what does the fandom want to be canon to classic?

i dont have a chart for this one. the answers were so different, and people had a variety of very interesting and cool ideas that they obviously had put a lot of thought into! i'll highlight some of the most popular trends:

there were quite a few people (like the example above) who wanted some side-series, such as archie, rockman adventure, or mmV to be canon or have parts of it be canon.

other people wanted particular characters to have more depth! this largely applied to blues (see above), but there were also responses like this for dr cossack/kalinka, swordman, quint, and shadowman. there were also quite a few cases of people wanting particular characters to be canon like quakewoman.

some people mentioned wanting to have the robots interact with others: feeling that they did not have enough in canon. this largely included the rms, but it also involved human characters! kind of on this same topic, many people wanted to see the robots have a "happy ending."

lgbt rep was a huge desire for the fandom! quite a few people talked about wanting lgbt characters to be established in the series. to add onto this, five responses were along the lines of this one:

this post has gone on for a super long time, so I probably should stop here. i wish i could have included the really long responses to the last question; some of you are really talented writers who put a ton of thoughts into your ideas. i really really REALLY appreciate all of your responses and also the patience you all have had in waiting for this to upload... i hope you all have enjoyed this!

[justkeeptrekkin]

A gift to all my followers!

This is something I whacked out a couple of weeks ago- just a thank you to all my followers who’ve stuck around, or who have just found me within the Good Omens fandom! It means the world to see you guys enjoy my fics. This is my gift to you guys, now that 2019 is coming to a close!

Enjoy! x

***

It’s hard to keep track of time when they're together on a good day. It’s even harder on the best of days. 

The Ritz is busy. The lunch table is inappropriately large for just the two of them. They’re sat right next to each other. Champagne is bitter-sweet on Crowley’s tongue and he could watch Aziraphale for hours, listen to him talking for hours. He measures the way Aziraphale leans towards him with a hand stretched across the table, sharing a story. Eyes bright, typically taut posture unusually relaxed. Entire aura relaxed. The feeling in his own chest, relaxed.

And so it’s harder than usual to keep track of the time. People leave after tea; people arrive for dinner; people leave after dinner. The waiters stare at them from the kitchen doors, waiting for them to ask for the bill, which they don’t. Crowley barely has it in him to glare at them. 

Their knees touch for almost the entire time. 

For Crowley and Aziraphale, time has only ever been a construct. However, it has also, always, been bound by celestial responsibilities. Now, they have no such responsibilities. And they are no longer being watched. 

The sky is darkening just a little when they finally leave. Green Park remains busy at-

Crowley checks the time on his phone.

-Greek Park remains busy at five thirty on a Tuesday night. People line up at the bus stop, heading home from work. Tourist stands filled with union jacks litter the streets outside the park. The colonnade of The Ritz shelters them from a light bit of drizzle. 

Crowley slides his hands into his negligible pockets and considers what comes next. Dining at The Ritz has always comes with a time limit, and somewhere to go immediately afterwards. Some sort of agenda. He doesn’t know what that is now. 

He looks over at Aziraphale, who hovers. Hovers and fiddles with his hands. Gaze flitting about as if he’s nervous, smile flickering on and off as if he doesn’t want Crowley to notice. He makes a feeble attempt at smiling again and gestures to the rain with a small nod. “Lovely weather we’re having, eh?” he says. It’s followed by a shaky half-laugh. 

Crowley frowns at him, the bottom half of his face forming a smile. He feels as if he’s watching the Angel of the Eastern gate, introducing himself at Eden. And something about the sudden awkwardness fills him with intrigue- more than that, anticipation. 

He leans back against a column, hands in pockets, and surveys Aziraphale’s anxious flapping.

“Well, go on, then,” Crowley prompts. “Something’s on your mind.”

“Not on my mind, per se,” Aziraphale concedes. His eyes darting up to the roof of the colonnade, to Heaven- a habit that may take some time to kick. “An idea of sorts.” “You’ve intrigued me,” Crowley drawls. 

“Nothing exciting. Only.” 

The look Aziraphale gives him in the brief moment of hesitation is heart-breaking. It’s filled with hope, and a healthy dollop of apprehension, too. As if Crowley would ever deny him anything. Crowley has experienced these moments of heart-shattering, heart-squashing, heart-pummelling love many times before, and he very much hopes that he’s done an alright job of concealing it from his expression.

He raises his eyebrows at Aziraphale and waits. 

Aziraphale sighs, looking uncomfortable and apparently having no intention of expanding. He expects Crowley to make the move. Unsurprising.

“I could…” Crowley starts. Aziraphale looks at him in hope again. Christ on a bike I’m a pushover, he thinks. “I could. Invite you round to mine for a drink. If… you were thus inclined.” A great beaming smile. “Oh, you took the words right out of my mouth.” Crowley huffs an almost-laugh. They look at each other. And they both let the weight of that sink in. Slowly, like the rain that’s currently seeping into the stone pavement beyond the Ritz’s colonnade. 

“Right,” he announces quickly, before thoughts can escalate any further. “Off we go, then?”

“Yes, just so. Tip top.”

Crowley conjures an umbrella. It’s not as if anyone would have noticed, he tells himself, though he sees the doorman at the Ritz recoil a little in shock. They share its shelter until Aziraphale miraculously hails a cab. 

***

“Best idea you’ve had all week, angel- and that includes the body swapping nonsense.”

Aziraphale is sat on Crowley’s sofa. He has been handed a glass of wine. He holds it between cupped hands like he plans to take communion. His legs are hidden behind a tartan blanket. (Crowley will never admit that he conjured such a thing long, long ago, just in case something like this might happen. Something like Aziraphale staying for a movie night, or even, staying for the night. It had always seemed so unlikely. In fact, the moment he’d created said blanket, Crowley had been so infuriated by his blind hope of ‘having Aziraphale round’ that he’d burned it. 

He’d restored the ashes to its original, tartaned form just a couple of hours later.)

“It seemed like the next logical thing,” Aziraphale explains pensively, brows raised and peering down into his Malbec. “If I had a ‘to do’ list, this is what I would put on it. I haven’t sat down and watched a movie all the way through in such a long time.” This may well be true, Crowley considers, as he rifles through his DVD collection, knees against polished concrete and painted nails tapping the spine of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Meanwhile, he’s simply marvelling at the fact that they’ve never sat down and watched a movie all the way through together, the two of them, ever. They’d always had more important things to be getting on with, like saving the world or performing miracles or negotiating the terms of their Agreement. And now. Now they can-

Now they can what?

He looks back over his shoulder at Aziraphale. Aziraphale is looking at him. The angel’s gaze flicks away instantly, staring back down into his wine. It hurts something in his chest. A nice kind of hurt, like a dash too much wasabi. 

Crowley takes a moment to recover from this. Then- “You. You still haven’t given me any clues. What you in the mood for, angel?”

Aziraphale’s eyes widen for the briefest moment as if he’s alarmed by this question, for whatever reason. Then he frowns to himself, purses his lips in thought. Casts his eyes around the room, for inspiration. “Something…” “If you say nice,” Crowley warns, knees hurting a little on the hard floor. 

“I wasn’t going to,” Aziraphale retorts. He pauses. He adds, more quietly, “I was going to say fun.”

Crowley groans. Turns to the DVD cabinet.

“I don’t do fun,” he says slowly, emphatically. 

“Alright, well. Something at least a bit light-hearted. I think saving the world rather calls for it, don’t you?” Crowley tilts his head from side to side in consideration. “It’s a fair point,” he concedes to himself more than Aziraphale. Pouts. “Don’t want to bring the mood down. Not sure I’d want to…”

The reason he doesn’t finish his sentence is because he’s just been, unfortunately, reacquainted with the more mushy end of his DVD collection. He’d forgotten that he has several Audrey Heburn films, as well as a couple of Julia Roberts classics. He glares at them. Hidden amongst the arthouse silent movies, they’re betraying just how soft he is. And Aziraphale’s watching.

The DVD boxes quiver under his stare. 

“How about we start with discussing what you have,” Aziraphale tries, reasonably. “Since we can’t reach a consensus. We don’t even have to watch a DVD if you don’t want-���

“Netflix,” Crowley remembers, standing up abruptly and immediately closing the cabinet. Then, “Netflix! That’s a thing. That’s a thing that we can do.” “Oh yes- I’ve heard of that,” Aziraphale says chirpily. 

“Oh, yes, well done, angel.”

Aziraphale glares. 

And so the Netflix loading screen bongs into life, Crowley collapsing onto the sofa beside Aziraphale. The red wine is jostled; Aziraphale tuts. Crowley props his heels on the coffee table. 

“Do you mind. I almost spilled Malbec on my shirt.” “Lots more choices now,” Crowley ignores him and begins flicking through. “Look, it’s all organised nicely in rows of genre. Love how tidy this is, look. And the search function is so much easier. Have you tried the search function on Amazon Prime, lately? Nightmare.” “I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Aziraphale replies lightly, spinning the wine in his glass like a whirlpool.

“Look, ‘s’got a whole section called ‘light-hearted movies’.” 

“Very helpful.”

They flick through the row. They go through all of them without choosing, and end up at the beginning of the loop again. Crowley growls and hangs his head off the back of the sofa.

“Oh, pass it here,” Aziraphale sighs, putting down his wine with a decisive clink and picking up the remote. He holds it with one hand and presses the directional buttons with his other hand, as if it’s far more complicated and delicate a process than it actually is. Like an octogenarian trying to use an iPhone.  

“How about this lovely looking Christmas film.“

"N- no. Anything but that. It’s October. And more importantly, no.”

“It looks ever so sweet, though. How lovely and romantic-”

“We are not watching The Christmas fucking-well Prince.”

He’d had a hand in inspiring that, and he’s too embarrassed to admit it even to himself. His evil deeds really are shit. 

“No need to snap,” Aziraphale mutters.  

“If you’re determined to watch something romantic and seasonal, I will accept The Holiday. If I must. Jack Black makes it bearable.”

Aziraphale lets the screen rest on the thumbnail of the movie. Then, quite thoughtfully, he says: “I like Kate Winslet. She seems like a nice woman.”

“Mm. Yeah, that’s. OK. I’m sure she is, angel.”

In all honesty, the idea of watching a rom-com with Aziraphale is border-line torture. It’s not quite as bad as waterboarding, but it’s close. More on the same level as those nightmares you get where you have to do a maths exam in your underwear, on stage, and all of your exes and crushes point and laugh at you. Not only are rom-coms pretty hit and miss- some influenced by Heaven, some by Hell, you never know what you’re going to get- they’re also a fantastic way of making Crowley feel incredibly exposed. Incredibly hot in the face from second-hand embarrassment. Incredibly aware that he’s meant to be sneering and heckling, when he’s just trying to concentrate on holding himself together. Stop the feelings from spurting out of his heart like water in a dam: feelings that he thinks are, embarrassingly, rather a lot like longing.

And yet, because it is Crowley, and this is what Crowley does, he lets Aziraphale select the movie and they watch The Holiday. They remark on the general cheesiness, the (at times) witty dialogue. The staggering amount of disbelief that has to be suspended for the plot to work. How nice Jude Law looks in glasses. 

Crowley’s only sort of watching. He’s concentrating on Aziraphale. Not outright staring at him (although he does often do that, it’s a wonder he hasn’t noticed and told Crowley to sod off). Rather, letting his brain tick over the knowledge that he is right beside him. Too much of his daft, devil mind is unable to ignore the fact that Aziraphale is there. 

Sometimes, it sends unhelpful thoughts his way. Like, you could touch his hand. Or, imagine feeding him popcorn- wouldn’t that be interesting. Or simply, there he is. He’s here. He’s with you. He’s chosen this. 

About half-way through the film, Aziraphale starts with those sad sighing sounds, making woebegone eyes at the television- which tells Crowley that he’s getting peckish but doesn’t want to bother Crowley with it. So, Crowley casually announces that he’s heard there’s a good new Chinese restaurant around the corner, and Aziraphale brightens up again immediately. And they have to pause the film to choose what to eat, because Crowley reckons he might actually order something for himself this time, and Aziraphale ums and ahs about these things for hours anyway. And once they’ve ordered- over the app, thank God for avoiding human interaction- the food arrives, quite miraculously, three minutes later. 

And once the food is gone, the film is almost finished. And Netflix seems to have decided what they should watch next, because it puts on the first episode of The Crown without asking them. Which they watch, although Crowley’s not really watching. And Aziraphale is complaining about the inaccuracies. 

And at some point they end up sitting very close.

No. That makes it sound as if Crowley has no idea how they ended up that close. He knows exactly when this happened, because he hasn’t taken a breath since. 

It happened like this.

They’re halfway through the first episode of The Crown, and Aziraphale has returned from the kitchen with a new bottle of red- a Pinot, this time- and he pours for both him and Crowley. Aziraphale has been sat on his own side of the sofa, and Crowley has been on his, draping his arms and legs wherever he sees fit. Now, as Aziraphale resettles on the sofa, he sits right beside him. The way Crowley is angled, his legs dangling off the arm of the sofa, means that he’s leaning in Aziraphale’s direction. Very obviously. 

So he’s using all his (very little) core strength to keep himself sitting upright enough not to fall into his lap. Even if it would be very nice to let his head rest on Aziraphale’s lap. And even if he’d really like to relax a little bit and lean his shoulder against Aziraphale’s. 

And for Heaven’s sake, it shouldn’t be an issue for a couple of six thousand year old beings to sit side-by-side on a sofa, and yet, here’s Crowley, having a crisis about it. It’s not as if he thought twice about pinning him against a wall. 

Although he probably should have. That was a lot.

His eyes follow the way Aziraphale’s legs stretch in front of him, crossed over at the ankles. A little slouched on the sofa, shoes off. It’s about as relaxed as Crowley’s ever seen him. 

“Why do you think they decided to make this TV series now, when the Queen is still alive,” Aziraphale remarks. It almost makes Crowley jump a little, so deep in thought that he’d forgotten time hadn’t stopped entirely.

“Whassat?” “Well, why do you think they’ve made the series now? It seems a bit-”

“Right,” Crowley says brain finally processing the question. “No- dunno, angel.” They both go quiet. Crowley’s hand grips the back of the sofa. The fear that he’s going to slip and lean against Aziraphale is too real. As nice as it would be-

Perfect. Miraculous. Wonderfully human. 

-It would also be mortifying. 

He can hear Aziraphale’s breathing. Slow. Precise and even, like he’s measuring out ingredients for a recipe. It makes Crowley’s mouth go dry with painful self-awareness.

“Do you remember,” Aziraphale starts quietly, “when you and I bumped into each other in Camden Town?” He takes a few seconds to pretend to think about this. “Yeah, ‘f course. Nineteen seventy-seven. What made you think of that?” Aziraphale shifts a little, looking at Crowley. Crowley doesn’t look back, watches the screen. If he turns towards Aziraphale, they’ll be-

“You were wearing that awful t-shirt.” That makes him laugh. A tipping-the-head-back laugh. “Oh yeah- my God Save the Queen t-shirt. Sex Pistols. Yeah, those were the days. Don’t knock ‘em, they were a good band.” “I’m sure they were.” “Don’t use that voice, they were. Anarchic music at its finest.” “I believe you, but bebop is still a little too baffling for me, I’m afraid.”

Crowley doesn’t expect it. He doesn’t know where it comes from- he thought he knew himself quite well at this point, but apparently not well enough. He feels something take over from out of nowhere. Rather, feels something erase everything else- a whiteboard rubber cleaning all the bullshit away. 

And now he’s turned to Aziraphale without the babbling voice of anxiety in his head. 

“It’s punk music, not bebop. And. I reckon you’d like it.” His voice is a murmur and his eyes are looking at Aziraphale’s lips. Thank Christ for sunglasses. 

When he looks back up and meets Aziraphale’s gaze, he’s watching Crowley. Looking for something. 

He feels his lips part, hears himself take a breath through his mouth. 

“Oh, really?” Aziraphale asks weakly. A small quirk in one eyebrow. 

“Y-” Fucking Hell. His throat’s all dry and he’s forgotten what words are. And now Aziraphale is definitely looking at his mouth. Fuck fuck fuck fu- “Yeah. You’re a rebel now, after all. Sort of. Breaking all those rules.”

“Yes,” Aziraphale replies in a whisper. Then, regaining his voice, “I suppose that’s true.”

“S- uh- mm- w- some of the songs, anyway, not all of them. You’d uh- h- some of them are a bit explicit than others and you’d probably not. Not get on with those ones.”

“Crowley…?” That’s all it takes. Thousands of years of keeping his feelings to himself and taking it slow, and all it takes is that little inflection in Aziraphale’s hushed voice. That hesitant request, draped over the sound of his name. Crowley leans in and presses his lips gently against Aziraphale’s. 

There’s that horrible moment when it stops, and everything else seems to stop, too. The what next? hangs in the air and Aziraphale stutters a shaky breath against Crowley’s skin. 

“Too fast?” is what Crowley ends up asking. Just to break the pause. 

And then the most dazzling, drunken smile spreads across Aziraphale’s face. Brows knit together. An expression that looks a lot like “To the world.” 

“No,” he half laughs, shaking his head infinitesimally. “For once, no. We… we saved the world, I rather think we deserve this.”

Something in Crowley relaxes, unhinges, collapses. It lets all the feelings free and they flood him till he swears he almost goes blind. And that is how they both end up falling asleep on the sofa, still wearing the days’ clothes and kicking off a tartaned blanket. Wrapped up in each other- starting this new era as they mean to continue.

***

Crowley wakes up and finds his head on Aziraphale’s chest. He’s splayed on top of him, arm hanging off the edge of the sofa. He feels Aziraphale’s hand, warm between his shoulder blades. 

“What would you like to do today?” Aziraphale asks with a smile in his voice. 

That is how it starts. They think of the things they were too scared to do together, the things that they never found the time to do together, the things they always liked to do together. 

They go for a walk through Hampstead Heath, just as the weather’s beginning to turn- their breathes steaming in front of their faces as they walk. They haven’t been here since 1815. They both try to avoid the muddy parts and fail spectacularly. They make fun of each other for the mess they’ve made of their shoes. They begin by hooking their fingers together, until they’re brave enough to hold hands completely. 

They go home and cook together. It goes disastrously. 

“What are we doing today?” Crowley asks the next morning, when they wake up on Crowley’s sofa again. 

They go to some hipster bar in East London- Tobacco Docks, it’s called. They find that there’s good food, lots of good booze and an ice rink- which Crowley absolutely point-blank refuses to go on until Aziraphale makes that wide-eyed, pleading face. They have a tipsy and very clumsy skate around the rink before returning to their drinks. Crowley’s better at wine than ice rinks. 

“What are we doing today?” Aziraphale asks, when they’ve woken up in Crowley’s bed. His white hair against his white sheets. A new part of the landscape of his room.

They end up doing very little. They read together on the sofa and make tea.  Crowley introduces Aziraphale to the best music ever created- disco, of course. They dance in the living room in bare feet and laugh till they can’t see through the tears. 

“What are we doing today?” Crowley asks the next morning. 

“What are we doing today?” Aziraphale asks the next. 

They’ve saved the world, and that still seems surreal. But there’s waking up on Crowley’s sofa after a movie marathon, too. A dinner date, or a night in. 

And that feels perfectly real. 

[nitewrighter]

would you ever write a drabble for the MEKA squad? Happy holidays!

Tfw you really want to give Overlord they/them pronouns (because nonbinary characters aren’t just robots, Blizzard!!) but the Wiki is he/him, so you’re like “Okay he’s he/they.”

...this originally started out as a one-off gag and then mutated into this. Have fun.

------

It had been a long day of being slumped behind desks while government officials bickered through translators for the Meka squad. They were in Russia for what was supposed to be a “Joint Defense” conference discussing the applications of sharing Meka and Volskaya technology to better defend against the Gwishin and the Siberian Omnium, but communication had quickly broken down. Russia, it turned out, didn’t take too well to Korea granting citizenship to Omnics with only a handful of the EU restrictions (”and not even the UK restrictions!” one politician had blustered.) The Meka squad itself had been scoffed off as “celebrities” and “mascots” and so the day was ending with D.Va, D.Mon, and Casino standing around the hotel lobby. D.Va was scrolling through her phone next to a roaring fireplace while D.Mon stooped over her shoulder,  and Casino leaning against the hotel bar, examining some vodka in a shot glass and ready to pretend it definitely tasted like something other than burning to impress the cute bartender. The three of them perked up at the sound of the lobby elevator dinging and Casino knocked back his drink and suppressed a wince as a blue-clad figure waddled out of the elevator and into the lobby.

“Woah,” D.Mon blinked a few times as she and D.Va walked over.

“What--woah,” said Casino, still blinking a few times through the vodka still burning the back of his throat.

“What?!” muffled the waddling shape in blue.

“Is...uh... that really you under there, Seung-hwa?” D.Va tilted her head, trying to hold in snickers.

“I have a low cold tolerance,” Overlord’s voice was muffled through their scarf. He was a veritable sausage of a long puffer jacket, and apparently heavily layered even under that by the way his arms were spread away from his torso, and clumsily thudding around in heavy boots. A fur-lined trapper hat virtually swallowed their head and nearly all of their face was covered by a scarf.

“You’re T-Posing,” said D.Va.

“I’m not T-posing!” muffled Overlord indignantly

“...I wanna try something,” said Casino, stepping forward.

“Don’t be mean,” said D.Mon, furrowing her brow.

“I’m not,” said Casino.

“What are you doi--” Overlord started but Casino put his hands on the outsides of Overlord’s arms and pressed down, trying to push Overlord’s arms to the sides of their torso. Casino pulled his hands away and Overlord’s arms sprang back to their previous spread position. Casino snorted.

“Ooh! Let me try!” said D.Va, quickly walking up and pressing Overlord’s arms down to their side as well and letting them spring back into place.

“Okay that’s enough--” said D.Mon.

“We should get some selfies in--!” said D.Va.

“Can we just get going?!” said Overlord.

“Can you walk?” said Casino, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yes I can walk,” said Overlord.

-----

“Waddled” was a closer word for it.

“...are they still behind us?” said D.Va as she, D.Mon and Casino walked down the sidewalk.

Casino gave a glance back to Overlord practically duckwalking, their arms bouncing slightly at their sides since it apparently took physical effort to move them from their positions in a normal walking manner.

“He’s still behind us,” said Casino, smirking slightly, “Kind of reminds you of those penguin documentaries, March of the Mek--” He got elbowed by D.Mon.

Admittedly as they walked through the streets, all three of them had flashes of jealousy towards Overlord for being so bundled up. Russia had a cold that sank deep past the skin and made them starkly aware of every injury they had ever received in the Meka program, feeling old fissures in bones. It was past Christmas but not yet New Year’s, and lights and decorations still hung on some buildings. The city was a hodgepodge between stately old pre-crisis buildings, more modern skyscrapers, and several massive industrial-looking defense bases armed with massive long-range anti-aircraft turrets. The massive Svyatogors stood sentry at the city’s borders, surveying the city and beyond it with a sort of lumbering casualness that made you believe they were simply fully living giants rather than piloted mechs. D.Va watched as one turned its head slowly.

“...kind of glad the deal fell through,” muttered Casino, following her line of sight, “Can you imagine those ugly things in Busan? Gross.”

“...I could see myself piloting one,” said D.Mon.

“You would,” said Casino.

It wasn’t too long of a walk from their hotel to the park, and King was waiting for them at the wrought iron gate marking its entrance. He was scrolling through his phone while backlit by the blue, white, green, and pink lights being diffracted through the massive ice sculptures dotting the park behind him. The park was noticeably more crowded than the streets, a mix of locals on dates and tourists admiring the ice sculptures.

“What took you guys--” King started but then glanced at Overlord plodding along behind them, “Nice coat.”

“Thanks,” muffled Overlord.

Despite the crowds, the Meka squad’s walk through the park was quiet, pausing to look at different ice sculptures, getting hot smoky tea with a hint of orange peel from a little kiosk. Aside from Casino, who was only wearing earmuffs over his sleeked-back white hair, the five of them pretty much blended into the crowd. The subject matter of the ice sculptures ranged from whimsical and natural forms such as narwhals and giant flowers with real petals and blossoms suspended frozen inside them, to more technically impressive architectural forms of famous buildings from around the world and reproductions of classical sculptures, to a large collection of propagandistic figures of Svyatogors, fresco reproductions of posters, and Omnic crisis heroes. D.Va paused to see a line had formed next to an ice sculpture of a heroically flexing Aleksandra Zaryanova, glowing in pink, with tourists and locals alike eagerly posing and flexing next to it.

“...maybe you’d get a statue if the deal hadn’t fallen through,” D.Mon spoke next to her.

D.Va huffed. “I don’t know if that’s what I want people to remember me for,” she said quietly.

“Mm, yeah saving the city multiple times is nothing compared to the rush of gaming tournaments,” D.Mon said teasingly.

“...gaming tournaments mean everyone’s safe,” said D.Va and the teasing expression on D.Mon’s face was wiped away. Wordlessly, D.Mon slipped her arm through the crook of D.Va’s elbow and pulled her close.

“I know they’re wrong, here,” D.Va went on, “I know the omnics who live in Busan aren’t like the Gwishin--they aren’t the same---but what if the Gwishin finds a way to control them, somehow? There was that incident in Giza...” she shook her head, “But then I feel like a big jerk for thinking that! Like that’s not fair!”

D.Mon just leaned her cheek on the top of D.Va’s head. “I wish I could say there’s an easy answer for it. Most of the time I just worry about flying and keeping the team alive and let everyone else sort that junk out.”

“...we saw how they sort it out,” muttered D.Va, “They don’t. One side wants to put them all in a trash compacter and the other side wants to treat them like people so it all gets broken down country by country, but no matter what we’re all scared. And--I remember being a kid--and my dad taking me down to the basement when the air sirens went off, and giving me his old Fujita-Via with his pirated Starcraft port, and his noise canceling headphones that were too big for me, but I could still feel the house shaking--”

“Hana--” D.Mon squeezed her arm slightly.

But if I kept playing... it felt further away,” said D.Va, “Playing used to make it feel further away.”

“...and now we play to keep them away,” said D.Mon, quietly, “...you’re not alone, you know,” she added.

“I know I’m not--” D.Va started.

“But you’re not the only one who’s gone through stuff like that--that’s literally why we’re all here,” said D.Mon.

D.Va blinked a few times. 

“I’ve been talking to Dae-hyun,” said D.Mon and D.Va gave an exasperated huff, but D.Mon pushed further, “He’s worried, too. That night when you overclocked your reactor---”

“I had it handled!” D.Va said quickly, before catching herself, “We--we had it handled. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without--”

“Without Dae-hyun,” said D.Mon, “And I know it’s different with him, there’s no stupid pro-gamer egos, he’s not in the field like we are---But... is it that unfair of me to ask you to trust us like you trust him?”

D.Va glanced down.

D.Mon pressed her lips against D.Va’s snowflake-flecked hair, more of a nuzzle than a kiss, before gently pulling her along to the next ice sculpture. “At least hang out with us more. We have pit crews, you don’t have to keep pulling late nights tweaking Tokki.”

“Yeah, but I’m--”

“Picky,” D.Mon smiled, smoothing snowflakes away from D.Va’s hair with a smirk, “I know.”

D.Va sighed and leaned against D.Mon, “...I’ll try,” she said, quietly, then thought for a second, “I’ll make it a New Year’s resolution! Hang out with you guys more! Get away from the garage...”

They were making their way to an art nouveau-looking sculpture of a woman holding a pouring out swirling water when their comms buzzed. D.mon pulled her comm from her pocket.

“Guys, we need to regroup,” Casino said on the other end.

“What’s going on?” said D.Mon, “Call from headquarters or--?”

“Casino lost Overlord and we accidentally kidnapped a small Russian lesbian,” King’s voice sounded flatly on the other line.

“You lost Overlord too!” Casino argued.

“What--” D.Mon stammered, “How did you--”

“Just meet us back at the narwhal,” said Casino, before clicking out of the call.

D.Va and D.Mon exchanged glances.

“We don’t have to--” D.Mon started.

“Yes we do,” said D.Va, squeezing D.Mon’s arm and dragging her through the crowd. The narwhal sculpture was back towards the front of the park, and the crowds made it slow going, but they were able to find Casino, King, and what looked like Overlord’s heavily-layered t-posing figure next to them.

“What do you mean you lost Overlord?” said D.Mon, “They’re right--”

The figure, with some effort given the thick layers of their clothes, took off their trapper hat to shake off a shaggy asymmetrical bob and pulled down their scarf to reveal a convex nose.

“Not Overlord,” said D.Va.

The girl with the shaggy bob said something in Russian and pointed at Casino.

“We got into a really dense crowd back at the svyatogor sculpture,” said King, “My audio translator app says she thought Casino was her girlfriend from behind.”

“It’s mistranslating ‘girlfriend,’” said Casino, flatly.

“It’s really not,” said King.

“...which means Overlord must be following someone he thought was Casino!” said D.Va.

“Stunning powers of deduction,” said King, adjusting his glasses.

“Well, where was the last place you saw your girlfriend before?” said Casino, looking at the girl.

King rapidly tapped something into his phone. “G’dyeh te pahsled--” he started reading before going, “Fuck it--” and hit a button on his comm. The phone fired off a phrase in Russian and the girl shrugged. She paused, then said something questioning in Russian and pointed at D.Va.

“Can you say that again?” said King holding his phone up to her.

The girl repeated her question more slowly and the phone translated the phrase, “Is that D.Va, from the holos?”

“...uh...” D.Mon seemed hesitant to reveal their identities after such comfortable anonymity but D.Va cut in.

“Yes, I’m D.Va, do you know where our friend is?” she said, and the phone translated for her.

The girl almost squealed but managed to control herself and cleared her throat. “Big fan,” she managed in thickly accented english, gesturing at herself.

“Look just text Overlord and we’ll get this mess cleared up,” said D.Mon, looking at King.

“We’ve been texting them. No answer. I don’t think they can feel the comm buzzing through that coat,” said Casino.

“Look, I’m sure he’s already figured it out and is on his way back to us,” said D.Mon, “Overlord pilots the most complex mech out of all of us, he can control the movements of 27 airborne mini-drones simultaneously, I’m pretty sure he would notice pretty quickly if he was following some Russian chick and not Casino.”

All of their phones buzzed at once and they flipped them open to see their groupchat.

0verl0rd: HELP.

0verl0rd: ON A TRAIN.

0verl0rd: RUSSIAN LADY WASN’T CASINO.

0verl0rd: DON’T KNOW WHERE I’M GOING.

DeeVaaaaaa: WHY ARE YOU ON A TRAIN!? 

K1ng_Soo: Literally when did we say we would get on a train.

0verl0rd: I DON’T KNOW I WAS JUST ROLLING WITH IT.

0verl0rd: NOT CASINO LADY IS YELLING AT ME IN RUSSIAN NOW.

Casi_no: How did you not notice they were speaking Russian before?

0verl0rd: THIS HAT IS REALLY THICK AND IT WAS HARD ENOUGH KEEPING UP.

Yuna-Mon: Okay just stay calm and stay where you are.

Overlord: AGAIN I’M ON A TRAIN.

The Meka squad glanced up from the group chat and looked at Overlord’s thick-coat look-alike, whose phone suddenly buzzed. Through the thickness of her own coat it took her some effort to pull it out and answer it. They watched as she argued in Russian for several minutes, then turned to talking very quickly in Russian for another, minute, then laughing, then she gave a glance to the Meka squad, cupped a mittened hand over her mouth and spoke into the phone a bit more quietly and excitedly, before apparently reaching a satisfying conclusion, peppering in what sounded like a dozen pet names, and then ended the call. She gestured at King to hold his phone up to her and spoke Russian into his translator app.

“My Nadenka and your friend are heading to Vasily’s--our usual spot in Dumskaya,” the translator app’s automated voice made her easy tone sound much more halting, “You can pick him up there. Maybe grab drinks, yes? Big Meka fans! We love D.Va!”

King was apparently feverishly web-searching Dumskaya but D.Va said, “Great! Lead the way!”

The girl patted her mitten against her thick coat, “Uliana,” she said,

“...Hana,” said D.Va.

The girl made another high-pitched sound but caught herself, cleared her throat, and managed to get control of herself again. “Come on!” she said, waving them across the park. D.Va and Casino followed, but King and D.Mon hung back, slightly.

“Sounds like a recipe to wake up in a bathtub full of ice,” muttered King under his breath.

“I’m sure they don’t need ice with all this snow,” said D.Mon with a slight smirk. “It’s going to be fine.”

“And if it’s not?”

“Well I guess there will be a messy international incident concerning the ransoming and eventual brutal murders of Korea’s primary anti-Gwishin defense force, is that the conclusion you want me to jump to?” said D.Mon.

King opened his mouth, then furrowed his brow and readjusted his glasses.

“We grab Overlord and get out,” he said firmly.

“Mm-hmm,” D.Mon nodded her head.

-----

Vasily’s was a dive bar but it wasn’t a dive bar. It was warmly lit, had a handful of floral-patterned Slavic tchotchkes, some granny-chic doilies that suggested the place served lunch and tea, and a long garland of fake pine dotted with pink ornaments trailing along the wall. There was definitely a lived-in feeling to the place, but it was offset by an almost persnickety cleanliness. As King pushed the door open, he readjusted his glasses, finding the bar brighter than expected. It was virtually empty, but Overlord was sitting at the bar, having shed his thick coat with the trapper hat in his lap. He was apparently gesturing with several overturned shot glasses on the bar counter and talking to... Casino?

King gave a quick glance to Casino, who was still standing next to him, then glance back at Overlord and his bleach-blonde companion and snorted as she turned her head.

“She does look like you from behind,” he said to Casino.

“Shut up,” said Casino.

“Nadenka!” Uliana called out and then excitedly pointed at D.Va before unzipping her own thick puffer coat and hurrying over for a pecking cheek kiss from Nadenka.

“Sorry for mix-up, Meka Squad,” Nadenka looked over at the four of them.

“You speak english?” said King.

Nadenka made an ‘eeehhhh’ gesture with her hand, “Not very good,” she said with a shrug, and then elbowed Uliana, “Better than this one, though. She didn’t tell you?”

“Ah!” Uliana scoffed, “Hey!” She admonished her in Russian but Nadenka just gave her a smug smirk. 

“I was telling her about that amphibious gwishin mech back in the fall, remember that?” Overlord swung around on their barstool, eyes bright, “The crawler?”

“Yes, we all remember the crawler,” King said quickly, “Now, we should get back to the hotel, before you wander off after another random woman who looks like Casino from behind--”

“But I’m not finished yet!” said Overlord.

“Is true,” said Nadenka, “I want to hear rest of story. I think little blue guy should be D.Va, yeah?”

Uliana gasped as if her girlfriend had just spoken blasphemy, but Overlord just beamed smugly and D.Va snickered a little. 

“...we can stay for the story,” said D.Mon.

“What?” said King, “But--”

“And shots,” said Casino.

“Shots!?” King repeated.

“They got snacks, here?” said D.Va, “Kind of want something salty.”

“Hana--!” King was pressing his fingertips to his forehead but Uliana was already flagging down the exhausted looking bald bartender and feverishly talking to him in Russian. D.Va was able to make out the words ‘D.Va’ and ‘Meka Squad’ in her rapid rant. Within seconds shot glasses and little doily-skirted opened mason jars of pickles were being set out on the bar. “...this isn’t happening,” muttered King, but D.Mon just bumped her shoulder into him. 

“Come on,” she said, “Think of it as... ‘regional immersive research for the Meka program’s future collaborative efforts.’“

“...I’m writing all of you up to our CO,” said King flatly before Casino held out a filled shot glass to him and he sullenly took it. 

“Is this that glitz and glamour you guys are always heading off to?” said D.Va, pushing herself up onto a barstool. 

“It might be,” said D.Mon grinning and taking a barstool next to her, “If you came with us more often.”

“New year’s resolution,” said D.Va, crunching one of the bar pickles.

[goldenraeofsun]

we can follow the sparks

More of this verse!

As they sit down to lunch, Alicia asks in a hushed voice, “Have you guys seen the new Latin teacher?” 

Josephine shakes her head as she bends down to pull out her history textbook. She’s one of those miraculous people that can study, gossip, and eat all at the same time.

If Alicia tried that, she’d dump bits of tomato on her book, ask “what?” every two minutes, and absorb zero percent of the reading.

“I have Latin tomorrow,” Aidan says as he digs into a container of leftover spaghetti.

“Oh, you don’t count,” Alicia waves him off and nudges her brother with to pay attention. Max looks up from haggling with Krissy for half of her pastrami sandwich.

Aidan's brow furrows. “Why?”

“Because you’re straight,” Alicia dismisses.

Krissy dumps the pastrami in front of Max and grabs half of his grilled tofu and veggie sandwich and his kale chips in return. Max’s face falls.

Aidan scowls at Alicia. “What, is the new teacher hot or something?”

Alicia scoffs, “Or something.”

Max’s face lights up hopefully. “Hotter than Mr. Winchester?” 

“Mr. W isn’t hot,” Krissy points out, nose wrinkling.

Alicia rolls her eyes. “You are literally the only senior who thinks that.”

“The only student,” Max corrects as he takes a hearty bite of pastrami.

Alicia holds out her hand, which Max slaps obligingly. Thank god Alicia has her twin. 

“Maybe Kaia has had him,” Josephine points out as Kaia takes the only free seat at their lunch table, Claire close on her heels. They both squeeze in, content to practically sit in each others’ laps.

Alicia rounds on the newcomers. “Have you had Latin?”

“I take Spanish,” Kaia says, shrugging. “Why?”

With her nose already buried in her book, Josephine supplies, “Alicia says the new teacher is hot.”

Claire chokes on her own spit.

“I heard from Patience he also teaches French and Spanish too,” Max says in a hushed voice.

“Oh,” Kaia says with a sidelong glance at Claire, “I have Spanish tomorrow.”

Claire silently hands Kaia half of her wrap, saying, “I’m not taking a language this year.”

“You can do that?” Krissy asks.

Kaia passes Claire her yogurt without looking at her because they are truly the most disgusting couple ever. Claire shrugs. “I was taking Mandarin at my old school, but obviously I can’t do that here.”

“At Carver,” Aidan spits.

Claire ignores him. “I’m taking AP English and Creative Writing instead.”

“Nice,” Max raises his fist for her to bump, “double Mr. Winchester.”

Claire makes a face. “I’m with Krissy on this one. I don’t get the appeal.”

Max shakes his head despondently. “Of course you don’t. You’re a lesbian.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have eyes,” Claire snorts. “He’s old.”

“Nobody’s had Latin, French or Spanish yet?” Alicia asks, aghast.

“Hey!” Adian calls, “Alex!”

Alex looks up from the next table over where she’s squished between Patience and Tracy Bell. “What?” she demands, annoyed at the interruption.

Aidan smirks and says out of nowhere, “Do you think Mr. Novak is hot?”

Patience giggles and elbows Alex in the side as she splutters, “No!”

“That’s a yes,” Alicia says smugly.

* * *

Josephine approaches Mr. Novak’s desk cautiously, a little nervous to be talking to her new teacher one-on-one for the first time. She tries, “Professeur?”

Mr. Novak pauses wiping down the board. “Est-ce que tu as un problème avec les devoirs?”

Josephine shakes her head, saying slowly as she mentally translates, “Je n’ai pas ma copie de l'étranger. Je l’ai acheté le weekend dernier, mais il y a un… delay.”

“Retard,” Mr. Novak translates for her. He smiles and adds, “Pas de problème. Je garde toujours une autre copie dans mon bureau. Si tu voudrais bien me suivre.” He gestures for Josephine to follow him to the Language Office, but they stop short at the sight of Mr. Winchester standing in the doorway, staring at Mr. Novak with wide eyes.

“Dean,” Mr. Novak says in surprise. “Qu’est-ce qui s’passe?”

Mr. Winchester goes bright red. “Cas?” he asks weakly.

Mr. Novak gives his head a little shake. “My apologies. It’s been a long day. Is there something you need me for? I was just about to give Josephine my office copy of The Stranger.”

Mr. Winchester’s mouth opens and closes before he stutters, “N-no, it’s nothing. I’ll just… catch you later.” 

Josephine glances up at Mr. Novak as they turn the other way down the hall, towards the Language Office. “C’est bizarre,” she mutters.

Mr. Novak laughs lightly under his breath. “Peut-être il a oublié ce qu’il voulait me demander.”

Josephine inwardly frowns at the suggestion that Mr. Winchester “forgot” why he stopped by Mr. Novak’s classroom.

Josephine had Mr. Winchester for English as a freshman. He never forgot anything. He had an endless supply of Vonnegut quotes on hand, and he always remembered to ask Krissy how her dad was doing after he had a close call with cancer over spring break that year.

This time, he didn’t look like a man who couldn’t remember something; he looked embarrassed.

“Peut-etre,” Josephine echoes because she wasn’t about to just say all that to a new teacher. And in French.

In his office, Mr. Novak hands her a copy of Camus. “Voilà,” he says, completely straight faced. “Si tu as besoin d’autres choses, viens me voir.”

Josephine bobs a nod. “Merci beaucoup.”

“Au revoir,” he says with a little wave as she leaves the office.

Josephine meets up with Krissy by the front doors, half-heartedly fending off Aidan’s shitty flirting. “Hey,” she says. “Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem,” Krissy says easily. She pushes off the wall. “Aidan was keeping me company.” She smiles at him, and Aidan perks up like Pavlov’s dog hearing the dinner bell. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Aidan says faintly as Krissy and Josephine take off towards Josephine’s car.

Josephine waits until Krissy is buckled in to say, “You’ll never believe what happened after French today.”

* * *

Krissy has never regretted taking German more in her life. Edlund’s a pretty small high school with a little over 500 students in total, so all anyone’s been talking about for the first two weeks in September is the new language teacher, Mr. Novak. 

Alicia and Max think he’s hot.

Josephine thinks he’s nice.

Aidan thinks he’s cool.

Kaia thinks… well, she’s been pretty mum on the subject, but she’s not the gossipy type, so Krissy isn’t surprised.

Only Claire rolls her eyes every time Mr. Novak’s name comes up.

Krissy hasn’t met the new language teacher. If she’s lucky, she can catch a glimpse of messy hair and a rumpled suit while she speed-walks from Calculus to World History.

While investigating Mr. Novak himself might be difficult, Krissy is close with Mr. W. 

She can still remember how Mr. W’s footsteps sounded down the hospital hallway in the oncology wing; how her heart pounded in her chest the first time she got in his car; how he talked for forty-minutes about “his baby” all the way to Josephine’s house.

Once a week for a month in freshman year, Mr. W chauffeured Krissy from the hospital on Tuesdays (Josephine’s parents took her on the weekends). Occasionally, he stopped in to talk to her dad, since they both went to Edlund High years ago. Edlunders, as Mr. W said, always took care of their own.

On the car ride to Josephine’s, they talked about Vonnegut, surrealist fiction, dystopian sagas… They only skipped over classic literature, since Mr. W thought everything written before the 20th century was boring as fuck. Mr. W did allow Shakespeare, though, because of all the dick jokes. 

Krissy knocks on the door to the Language Office three weeks into the school year. While she’d like to pretend to herself her visit is to get Mr. W’s opinion on Mr. Novak (his opinion would be more reliable than Alicia, Max, and Aidan combined, and on par with Josephine’s) she can’t pretend the mild haze of panic clouding her head has anything to do with a teacher she doesn’t even have on her schedule.

“Come in!” Mr. W’s voice calls.

Krissy steps inside, nodding to Frau Allen at her desk by the window. Otherwise, the office is empty.

“Hey, Krissy,” Mr. W says with a smile as she fiddles with the strap of her back, hovering by the door. “You wanna take a seat? Cas already left for the day.” He gestures to what Krissy assumes is Mr. Novak’s desk, next to his.

Krissy sits. “Thanks.”

Mr. W’s lighthearted expression turns serious as he reads her face. “Is everything okay? Your dad doing well?”

“Oh yeah,” Krissy says quickly, “still in remission. Everything’s looking good.”

“Good,” he says emphatically, and he means it, not like Ms. Masters or Mr. Trent after the news went around school that her dad was sick.

Krissy taps her fingers on Mr. Novak's vacated desk. “What happened to Mr. Turner? Did he finally retire?”

“Mm hm,” Mr. W hums. “He still goes fishing with Bobby - Principal Singer - so I heard he’s doing well.”

“How’s the new guy?” Krissy asks as she spins the seat around.

Mr. W frowns at her question. “He’s good,” he says as he pins her in place with a long look. “Why the interest? Don’t you take German?”

“I’ve been considering switching,” Krissy lies. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Frau Allen make a face.

“Because that makes sense,” Mr. W says, clearly not believing a word. “Aren’t you in AP German?”

Krissy ignores the question. “I heard Mr. Novak came from Carver.”

“He did,” Mr. W says cautiously. “So what?”

“Maybe he’s a spy.”

“This is high school, not the USSR,” Mr. W says with a snort. “Plus, Cas was an Edlunder first.”

Krissy blinks. “He was?”

“He was a student in my year.” He smirks. “He actually tutored me in Latin, if you can believe it.”

Krissy mulls that over. “So you know him pretty well.”

“Well enough,” Mr. W says, back to being cagey as hell. “I know he’s a good teacher and this school’s lucky to have him.”

“Okay,” Krissy says dubiously.

Mr. W rolls his eyes. “Now we’ve got that out of the way, and god knows why you wanted to talk about Cas, why are you really here?”

“Everyone’s talking about him!” Krissy protests.

Mr. W leans back in his chair and surveys her with a cool eye. “Since when have you been interested in gossip?”

“Uh…”

“That’s what I thought,” Mr. W says, satisfied. “Just spit it out, kid. I promise it can’t be that bad.”

“Would you write me a recommendation letter for college?” she asks in a rush. “Please.”

Whatever Mr. W had been expecting, it wasn’t that. He laughs, and Krissy almost dies of embarrassment before he says, “Well duh. I have a draft of the thing I’ve been sitting on for two years.”

“Really?” Krissy asks, her eyes round.

Mr. W nods. “After everything with your dad, I thought this might come up. And there were parts I didn’t want to forget so I wrote ‘em down.”

“Great,” Krissy says faintly. She shouldn’t be so surprised. Mr. W told her he always liked to be prepared. A true boy scout, he’d say before laughing to himself. 

When she’d voiced her confusion - Mr. W being a boy scout wasn’t all that outrageous, if you take away the minor swearing (he was a lot worse when she was a freshman). He said they didn’t take men like him.

Krissy tactfully changed the subject, but the next week she went to GSA for the first time.

It was worth giving up her Thursday lunch period to see Mr. W smile when she walked into his classroom for their weekly meeting. 

* * *

Max winces as Krissy elbows him in the ribs. He’s giving up his Thursday lunch hour for this?

Alan Corbett’s been going on and on for the past twenty minutes. Sure, he’s President of GSA, but that does not mean everything he says is worth listening to. It’s a shame. He’s too nice for anyone to tell him how boring he is. 

Kaia and Claire are playing footsie under the table.

Thank god Krissy gets it. As their only Straight rep of the Gay-Straight Alliance, Max was highly skeptical when she signed up at the end of freshman year. But Mr. Winchester liked her, so it was enough to convince Max not to give her the cold shoulder when she sat next to him. Plus, whatever Mr. Winchester says goes, since Max could listen to him read the dictionary with that ruggedly deep voice of his.

Max doubts Krissy’s heard a single word out of Alan’s mouth. Instead, her whole attention has been riveted on Mr. Novak, who’s attending his first GSA meeting. He sits off to the side, by the big poster of Game of Thrones (Mr. Winchester says it’s based on a book, so it counts).

Krissy scrawls in all caps on the back of a history assignment: HEART. EYES.

Max subtly shakes his head and picks up his pencil. WTF?

Look at how they’re looking at each other!

They’re not tho

Exactly! Krissy taps her last message forcefully. They keep look at each other when the other one is looking the other way

Why do you care?

Krissy frowns.

If I wanted gossip, I would’ve stayed in the cafeteria with Alicia

It’s Mr. W. I know you like him

I like to look at him Could care less about his love life I thought you were the same What gives?

You only pretend to be a shallow man whore I know you like him You started this club with him 3 years ago

How else could I find questioning dudes to fuck?

ew

But all I ended up with was… Max nods at Alan in disgust.

Krissy hides her smile behind the fist propping up her chin. You have the best gaydar in the city limits. So does Mr. W have a chance with Mr. Novak?

Mr. W flipped a closeted Republican, so… And I’m not talking about politics.

Seriously?

You didn’t hear it from me

You don’t even like gossip Who the hell told you that?

Alicia. Who else? She knows everything.

Max smirks as he starts his next note.

It’s why her hair is so big. It’s full of secrets.

Krissy doesn’t manage to stifle her laugh in time.

Mr. Novak frowns disapprovingly, but Mr. Winchester doesn’t notice since he’s too busy staring at Mr. Novak.

Maybe Krissy’s onto something.

Max looks down at their notes to find another message: Josephine told me Mr. W has it bad for Mr. Novak

Max scrawls incredulously, Josephine??? Since when does she pay attention?

That’s what I’m saying He’s got it so bad even Josephine can see it

Aromantic Josephine, who took a year to figure out Aidan was into you

Yup.

I bet they’ll be banging in 2 weeks

Can you not

$5 says I’m right

Make it $10. 

* * *

Aidan sulks against the wall of the gym. He finally got Krissy to agree to go to a dance - Homecoming! - and all she wants to do is hang with their friends.

And fine, it wasn’t like he expected them to sneak out and make out or do more stuff when they were alone… but he kind of did.

At least he got a couple of dances in. Before Krissy dragged him away, he even got to grind up against her. It was fucking magical.

Now, he’s at a table with Kaia and Josephine. Krissy is waving over Alicia, so Max can’t be far behind. Only Claire is a no-show, but Krissy told him a few minutes ago she was in the bathroom. Girls always take a bafflingly long time in there. Maybe there are snacks?

“Where’s Max?” Aidan asks loudly over the music. There’s only two of them; the Y chromosome reps gotta stick together. 

Alicia vaguely waves her hand toward the dance floor. “I think he mentioned something about Ennis Ross.” She spins the folding chair around to straddle it and rest her arms on the back.

Aidan draws up short. “Ennis is gay?”

Kaia snorts. “Does it matter?”

“Not to Max,” Krissy says with a grin. “You know he’s always happy to play the baking soda volcano.”

“Huh?” Aidan asks.

Krissy rolls her eyes. “He’s always happy to be someone’s experiment.”

“Oh.”

Alicia’s lips purse but she doesn’t comment.

“Did you see Mr. Novak and Mr. W?” Krissy asks, tipping her head towards where the two teachers lean against the wall underneath one of the basketball hoops, talking with their heads bowed together.

“They are cute,” Alicia agrees, looking grateful for the subject change.

Mr. Novak dressed up for homecoming with a tie the school colors, and Mr. Winchester has Edlund's mascot, Peppy the Pigeon, painted on his cheek.

“Do you think if Aidan spikes the punch, it’ll,” Krissy waggles her eyebrows, “make things happen?”

Josephine frowns. “I don’t think Mr. Novak could ever be drunk enough to make a move in front of students.”

“But Mr. W for sure,” Krissy says.

“Oh yeah,” Alicia says.

“Hey,” Aidan protests, holding his hands up in the T formation for timeout. “I’m not giving up my booze.”

“Speaking of,” Alicia holds her hand out, “Gimme some.”

“What? No! Get your own.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” she asks, eyebrows raised. “Mom doesn’t even allow Coca Cola in the house because it brings ‘negative energy.’”

Krissy nudges Aidan in the ribs with a pointy elbow, and he sighs. He fishes his flask out of his suit pocket and hands it over. Alicia takes a swig and promptly passes it to Josephine, who gives it to Kaia.

“Hey, save some for the guy who brought it!” Aidan says as he snatches it back.

“Not too much,” Max’s voice says from behind him. He grins as Aidan jumps. “Whiskey dick is a real thing.”

“Hey,” Josephine greets. “No go with Ennis?”

“Got spooked right as we were getting to the good stuff,” Max says with a shrug.

“Sorry,” Kaia says sincerely.

“It’s alright,” Max says as he throws himself into the last empty chair. “I only got one more year here, and then there’s gonna be a whole freshman class of questioning dudes ripe for the taking.”

Krissy wrinkles her nose. “You do you, I guess.”

“Thank you, Kristine, I will,” Max says.

Alicia rolls her eyes.

“We were just talking about Mr. W and Mr. Novak,” Krissy says, jerking her head to the basketball hoop. “Huh,” she says, her eyes widening a she scans the gym, “Where’d they go?”

“Probably to go make out,” Aidan says bitterly with a significant look at Krissy. She frowns.

“We can only dream,” Alicia says wistfully.

The song changes to something with a thumping baseline and a catchy chorus, and there’s a deafening cheer from the dance floor.

Aidan glances around, but nobody at the table moves to join in. He taps his feet to the beat. A few of the teacher chaperones have meandered closer to the dancing group, eyes peeled for inappropriate activity.

“Wanna get some air?” Aidan says in a carrying undertone (the music is very loud) to Krissy.

Max groans. “Yes, please.”

Aidan glares.

“Where?” Alicia asks.

Adian's mood sours further. He is never going to touch Krissy’s tits at this rate.

Kaia sets her phone down on the table. “Claire’s already out by the football field. She says nobody’s there.”

“Alright then,” Josephine says as she gets to her feet and stretches.

Krissy holds her hand out to Aidan. “Come on, you,” Krissy says with a small smile, “This was your idea.”

Aidan grumbles but follows the group. The halls are weird in the dark, still festooned with banners and streamers from Spirit Week. Everyone is oddly quiet as their footsteps echo off the rows of closed lockers. They pass one of the lab rooms, and a shadow moves across the window, accompanied by a hushed giggle.

Max smirks. “Wanna bet how many are getting it on right now?”

“I’d steer clear of the supply closets,” Alicia says with a shudder.

“Talk about a cliche,” Krissy complains as they round the last corner before the large double doors to the field. “If I was sneaking around, the roof is the way to go. No one ever looks there.”

Aidan files that fact away for later.

The fall breeze hits them squarely in the face as they step outside. Aidan shrugs out of his jacket and puts it around Krissy’s shoulders, ignoring her eye roll and smiling at Josephine’s thumbs-up behind Krissy’s back.

Max gallantly gives Alicia his jacket too, and Josephine and Kaia huddle together as they pick their way across the field, stepping over bits of confetti, torn bits of streamers, and a few abandoned signs. The crowd had been particularly enthusiastic since they’d been playing Carver Preparatory.

Edlund High won, of course. For the fifteenth year in a row. Carver sucks.

They find Claire at the top of the bleachers, wearing her normal leather jacket over her midnight blue dress.

“Hey,” Kaia says, kissing her on the cheek. “What’re you doing up here?”

“I don’t like crowds,” Claire says, hugging her arms to her chest.

“Me either,” Josephine says as she sits next to Claire. 

“You didn’t have to bring the cavalry,” Claire complains to Kaia.

Kaia shrugs. “They wanted to come.”

“The dance was lame,” Max says as he bounds up two bleachers at a time.

“Because you’re too cool to do the electric slide,” Alicia says as she plops down on the row below.

Krissy wanders around, searching for the best spot to sit out of the wind, Aidan’s coat still wrapped tightly around her shoulders. “Hey,” she hisses, hand flapping in their direction. “Look!”

“What?” Alicia leans over to see what Krissy’s spotted. “Holy fuck,” she breathes.

Aidan, Max, and Josephine peer over the railings to see the shadowy area below, leaving Kaia and Claire to their whispered conversation.

Holy fuck is right. That’s Mr. Winchester. And Mr. Novak.

“What are they doing?” Aidan asks before he can stop himself. It’s not like he doesn’t know what a heavy duty make out looks like. 

Max snorts.

Alicia throws him a despairing look.

Krissy swivels around to face Claire. “Did you know they were down there?”

“Yeah? So what?” Claire says, frowning. “I wasn’t about to perv on a couple of teachers.”

Krissy’s mouth falls open as she stares at the group as a whole. “Do you think this is the first time?”

Max sneaks another peek. “Probably not,” he says critically. “Either that, or Mr. Novak’s way more randy than I ever gave him credit for. A real freak under that suit.”

Claire’s face spasms.

“Or maybe Mr. Winchester just brings it out in him -” Alicia starts.

* * *

“They’ve been dating for three years!” Claire explodes. 

Everyone turns to stare at her.

Two months. Two goddamn months of this. 

When she transferred to Edlund from Carver, she thought the worst part would be her family’s disapproval. They all told her it was stupid to throw away her future at a good school for a girl. They always said it like that, like Kaia didn’t have a name. At least Uncle Cas supported her, not that he had a single leg to stand on, since he was switching jobs and taking a pay cut to be with Dean. Claire would have preferred if her uncle didn’t follow her from school to school like the dorkiest duckling ever, but it was nice to have him in her corner.

But no, the absolute worst part was all the gossip she had to listen to. About Uncle Cas, aka the biggest doof on the planet.

Maybe Grandmother was right, and Edlund was filled with a bunch of idiots. Claire throws up her hands, saying through gritted teeth, “Castiel transferred from Carver to spend more time with Dean.” 

“How do you know that?” Krissy asks, her mouth falling open.

Claire purses her lips. “Castiel’s my uncle.”

“Your what?” Aidan gapes.

Claire rolls her eyes. “He’s my uncle. Dean’s his boyfriend. They’re gross together all the damn time - but not in school because Uncle Cas has opinions about it.”

“If Mr. Winchester could make out with him all the time, he’d do it,” Kaia adds because she’s had dinner at Uncle Cas’s way too many times and has seen it for herself.

Krissy leans over the railing. “Get it Mr. W!”

Alicia cackles as Dean and Uncle Cas jump apart, glancing around for the voice.

Dean’s Peppy face paint is nothing but a smear of grey and black on his cheek. Double gross. “Jesus Christ,” he mutters as he spots the group on top of the bleachers. “What the hell are you guys doing here?” 

“I wanted to make out with my girlfriend,” Aidan complains. Krissy rolls her eyes, but Claire doesn’t miss the regretful expression on her face before she turns back to the pair of teachers below.

“Just getting some air,” Josephine explains pleasantly as she aims a kick at Aidan’s shin.

“Don’t let us interrupt!” Max calls wickedly.

Dean runs a hand down his face and nudges Uncle Cas with his shoulder. “We should escort them back, right?”

Uncle Cas sighs. “It would be irresponsible not to.” He glares at Dean. And even in the dark, Claire can see how red his face is. “I told you sneaking off was a bad idea.”

“Be thankful we didn’t get to my real bad idea before the Scooby Gang found us,” Dean says, eyebrows waggling suggestively.

“We can still hear you,” Claire reminds them loudly.

“Alright, alright,” Dean says, flapping his hands at them like a giant mother hen. “Get down from there and back to the dance. I heard someone spiked the punch.”

“Really?” Aidan asks as he offers Krissy his hand to help her down.

“No,” Dean deadpans. He mutters to Uncle Cas, “I can’t believe we got cockblocked by a bunch of kids.”

Claire makes a noise of disgust as her feet hit the ground. “Are you incapable of whispering?”

Uncle Cas shoots Dean a warning look before saying calmly, “Nothing was going to happen. We were, ah, getting some air.”

“That’s not all you were gonna get,” Dean says in an undertone.

Claire groans.

“Stop,” Uncle Cas tells Dean reproachfully. “I know you’re goading her. It’s inappropriate.”

“I’ll show you inappropr-”

Uncle Cas actually slaps his hand over Dean’s mouth. “Not another word, Dean.”

They are the worst. Claire pretends to trip Dean up as they pass her, and Dean flips her the finger when Uncle Cas looks the other way.

Claire waits for Kaia and the rest of the group, dawdling after the pair of teachers. Bemused, she watches as Krissy, Max, Aidan, and Alicia hand Kaia money. “What’s going on?” Claire asks.

“Your girlfriend fleeced us,” Aidan complains as he pockets his wallet.

Claire raises her eyebrows.

Kaia shrugs, but her face is as smug as Claire has ever seen it. “I just bet everyone else was wrong.”

Claire’s mouth falls open. “Were you betting on them?” she hisses, pointing at Uncle Cas and Dean.

“I thought it would take them two weeks to sleep together,” Max says.

“I bet two months,” Krissy adds.

“One month,” Alicia supplies.

“A year,” Aidan says with a helpless sort of look.

Claire swivels to glance at Josephine. “What about you?”

Josephine raises her hands in a gesture of innocence. “I had no idea, which is why I didn’t get involved.” She studies the pair ahead of them for a few steps, her eyes narrowing as Dean reaches over to ruffle Uncle Cas’s hair. “I would’ve said something stupid like ten years.”

Claire bursts out laughing.

“What?” Krissy asks, annoyed.

Claire nudges Kaia, who looks stricken. “Come on, you know she nailed it.”

“I did?”

Claire snorts. “They got together after their high school reunion,” she says as Josephine’s face lights up. “It took ten years for those dumb fucks to get their shit together.”

Without missing a beat Uncle Cas calls over his shoulder, “Claire, language!”

Kaia smothers her giggles into Claire’s shoulder.

[thehopeofitalll]

2. enchanted.

THEY MEET! THEY MEET! anyways...just a suggestion, but you should probably listen to taylor swift's "enchanted" because, well it's an amazing song, what more can i say?

read it on ao3.

~

“Look who’s here!” Thalia said, grinning. “My…” She drummed her fingers against the table, making up for an imaginary drum roll, as a figure walked towards Annabeth, Jason and Thalia.

“...girlfriend!” Thalia finished, a rare smile on her face that she always showed to her aforementioned girlfriend.

“Reyna!” Annabeth exclaimed, smiling as she stood up to hug her friend. “You’re back? I thought you said it’d take you a few more months!”

“As you know,” Reyna began in a horrible imitation of a British accent, struggling to hold back her grin. “I am very well versed in the art of lying.”

“One of the truest things you’ve said in, like, your entire life I think,” Thalia added, getting a playful punch from her girlfriend.

“Still know how to be a badass, Chase?” Reyna asked, raising an eyebrow.

Annabeth smirked. “You should have figured that being a badass has been in my blood since I was born,” She replied.

“Maybe I could race you,” pondered Reyna. “It’d be fun to see you lose.”

“Hey! That’s not fair,” Annabeth muttered, folding her arms. “You’ve literally got a sports scholarship based on your running, and I bet you’ve practiced a lot all the way back in Berkeley.”

Reyna shrugged. “Yeah, you'd lose either way. So, it’s been a few years since we’ve seen each other and things have certainly changed. Someone’s got a little famous.”

“All because of her wonderful manager,” Thalia said, proudly.

“Oh shush,” Annabeth said, folding her arms. “Also, Thalia, about the whole getting-away-from-the-world-for-a-few-hours thing, I’m planning on sneaking away to Coney Island.”

“Coney Island?”

“Hey, I’ve wanted to go see it for a long time now, and this might be the perfect opportunity,” Annabeth reasoned.

“But so many people there could see you!” Thalia argued. “Like, thousands! It isn’t exactly the most secluded place for someone who wants to be anonymous and all that shit.”

“Relax, you know how good I am at disguising myself. I promise not to let the paparazzi get a hold of me. Okay?” Annabeth asked.

Thalia hesitated, then sighed. “Well…” she began. “Okay, fine. But you better be careful, young lady.”

“Yes, mom,” Annabeth said, rolling her eyes in Classic Annabeth Style, her voice dry with irony.

Usually it was Annabeth who was called “The Mom Friend” of the group (though she preferred to be the one who always advises her friends to not do the dumb shit they eventually end up doing. It wasn’t her fault she was the only one who had common sense).

“So?” Annabeth asked. “What’s the schedule for today?”

“Well, I’ve managed to give you around roughly two to three hours of free time, but besides that we’ve got the usual shooting. Thankfully, I think you have only a few scenes today, and I’m guessing the other stars are shooting most of their scenes today,” Thalia said, whipping out her clipboard.

“Fun.”

—🎡—

“Late to work again, Perry Johansson?” Mr. D exclaimed, with a groan.

“Sorry, Mr. D!” Percy said, sheepishly. He’d thought it was a Sunday morning, pressed the snooze button on his alarm five times and was late to the cafe for work. “Won’t happen again!”

“That’s what you told a week back!”

“Rough morning, huh?” Percy’s best friend, Piper McLean, asked, her eyes surveying his more-dishevelled-than-usual hair.

“That would be an understatement,” Percy replied, groaning.

“Nightmares?” Piper asked.

He nodded, as she gave him a sympathetic look.

It was common knowledge to all of his friends that he had nightmares, caused by his abusive past. Sometimes he woke up, sweating, his throat sore after yelling in his sleep. When he stayed with his mom, and his stepdad, she would usually rush into the room as soon as the screaming began. But once he moved out, he learnt to calm himself down. It didn’t help though, he found himself having panic attacks while thrashing around in his bed.

“And, hm, let me guess,” Piper began, feigning to be in deep thought. “You stayed up all night painting?”

He rolled his eyes, confirming that she was correct. “The nightmares were getting too much for me,” he mumbled.

Piper nodded, staying silent. She, and all of his friends, knew about his past. It wasn’t exactly easy to hide the long scar that ran down your back, when you were the captain of your swim team back at school.

“Well,” he said, drawing out the l. “How are things with Jason? Didn’t you tell me that you started dating?”

“Yeah…” Piper smiled. “He’s amazing, Percy. He cares a lot about me. I think he’s...perfect.”

He grinned. “Well, years of screaming at both of you to date each other finally paid off,” he said.

“Yes, Jackson, I truly appreciate it,” Piper said sarcastically. She turned around to greet the customer who had just come in, with a perfect smile on her face. “Hello and welcome to Olympus!”

Percy pulled out his phone, scrolling through his nearly non-existent proof of his social life, not really paying attention. He eyed a few messages from his cousin, Thalia Grace, planning to reply to it later, when a single word caught his eyes:

Annabeth.

Wait, what about Annabeth? he typed back hurriedly, fixing the typos that came along the way.

She replied almost immediately.

Knew that would catch your eyes, Kelp Head. - Pinecone Face

He let out a soft huff, but grinning affectionately nevertheless. He could literally hear the smirk in her message.

We’ve talked about this, Thalia. But what did she say?

Don’t worry, she didn’t say anything. I just mentioned her while reminding you about how dad wants you to come to dinner. And I know you well enough to figure out that you’d never check a message the first time you see it, unless it mentioned someone like, you know, Annabeth. - Pinecone Face.

You’re an asshole, Thals.

I know right! It’s one of the many things I’m good at, thinking of adding it to my resume~ - Pinecone Face.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His eyes were trained on his phone as Thalia continued to be typing something more.

Don’t forget about the dinner! Dad specifically requested that you and Nico must be there, or something. - Pinecone Face.

He was going to type back a quick yeah, okay and head back to the front, where Piper was greeting customers, when another message from Thalia popped up.

Hey, if you’re lucky, we might even run into Annabeth ;) - Pinecone Face

Not the winky face, he replied, unable to stop the grin from coming on his face.

—🎡—

There I was again tonight forcing laughter, faking smiles Same old tired, lonely place Walls of insincerity Shifting eyes and vacancy vanished when I saw your face All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you. —🎡—

Percy yelled, “I’m leaving as soon as I finish three more orders, you hear me?”

“I hear you, alright!” Piper yelled back, as she picked up her phone and walked towards him.

“I honestly wonder why I’m such a good friend,” Percy said, leaning against the counter. “Why am I always the one who covers the last 15 minutes of his friend’s shift?”

“Because you love me, and think I’m the most amazing person to ever walk on earth,” Piper replied, grinning proudly, as she flicked her dark brown hair over her shoulder.

“Of course I do,” Percy said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now, go meet Mr. Loverboy.”

“And you?” Piper asked. “What are you gonna be doing this evening?”

“Visiting the Ferris wheel in Coney Island,” Percy replied.

“Again?” Piper asked. “You were there, like, three weeks back. You need to get a social life, Perce.”

“Mm, I was just planning on spending my life with blue cookies,” he said. “And, it isn’t a waste of time. I learn more about landscapes and silhouettes, you know.”

“Ah yes, painting stuff,” Piper summed up. “Honestly, I don’t understand you at times, and we’ve been friends for so long.”

“I’m an artiste, Pipes,” Percy replied, grinning, with a terrible French accent on the artiste.

“Mhm, sure,” Piper mumbled. “Okay, don’t mess up the rest of the orders. I’ll see you soon.”

As Piper made her way out of the shop, Percy sighed. While he lazily waited for someone new to come in, he found himself bored, again.

He could blame his restlessness on his ADHD but in reality he never wanted to work here, he just needed some money while he struggled with becoming a popular artist, and he had to work here until the aquarium nearby finally accepted his resume. Then he’d be out of here.

He was tired. Tired of faking smiles, tired of seeing people bustling around in here, tired of vacant spaces. He couldn’t wait to leave this place behind him.

While he ruminated about this, another customer walked in, wearing a dark blue hoodie, with the hood pulled all the way down to their nose.

Percy stifled a groan and took his place at the counter. “Hey, welcome to Olympus Cafe. What would you like today?”

“One Chocolate Creme Frappuccino, please,” came the woman’s voice. He nodded, slightly pleased that he wasn’t the only one in the world who liked that drink off their menu.

He went inside to prepare her drink. When he came back, she was resting her head on her palm. “Name?” he asked.

“Oh? Uh, Annabe-Annabel,” she replied, stuttering a little bit.

He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question her. Writing Annabel on the cup, he pushed a straw in her drink. “That’ll be $4.95,” he said.

She nodded, reaching to her pocket. Percy always hated this part of delivering an order: that awkward silence while the customer got out their money.

He looked at the woman before him, as she fumbled around while bringing out her wallet. He could barely see her, but she had tan skin and maybe he caught a few wisps of golden hair. A five dollar bill fell out of her wallet, floating towards the ground.

“Shit,” she muttered.

Percy tried to hide a smile at that. He didn’t know why a random woman before him mumbling profanities was amusing to him. She bent down to pick up the dollar, and when she stood up her hood had fallen. Percy looked at her, then suddenly stopped fidgeting around.

Was it…? It was.

He knew how she looked from their time in high school. Stormy grey eyes. Honey blonde hair. He definitely knew her, knew her all too well.

She quickly pushed the bill towards him, and pulled her hood back up. A faint flicker of recognition passed through those intimidating eyes, as he took the dollar.

He picked up the cup, and handed it to her. She reached out for the cup, her fingers slightly brushing against his. A little spark seemed to drive up his arm, and despite himself, he grinned goofily.

“It was enchanting to meet you,” He said, then winked at her.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance, a faint blush of red coating her cheeks nevertheless. “That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said, her voice low.

He continued to grin as she looked up, sea green eyes meeting grey, then turned around to leave the shop. There was no mistake about it. It was her. Annabeth.

Annabeth Chase.

[ivanalam]

Disain Taman Surabaya

Jasa disain Taman surabaya - Tempat tinggal keren umumnya memiliki halaman depan yang lumayan lebar sehingga menjadikan kamu lebih enak dalam mendesainnya Cara Membuat Landskap Halaman Rumah Kampung menjadi taman depan rumah dengan model keren, misalnya untuk foto yang akan kalian dapat menanam berbagaitanaman dengan berbagai ukuran mulai dari yang mini, sedang, sampai cukup besar secara sama. Taman yang tertutup rumput juga dapat dilengkapi dengan jalan setapak yang dipakai sebagai jalan untuk tamu yang akan memasuki rumah sehingga tidak ada hari menginjak rumput taman, patung dan kolam kecil juga menimbulkan keasrian taman serta menjadikan terlihat semakin indah dan sejuk.

Taman adalah sebuah kumpulan tanaman kecil atau pohon pohon besar yang berlokasi di halaman dinding atau atap yang di tata dan di konsep dengan desain yang direncanakan oleh tenaga ahli yang berkompeten hingga sebuah maha karya yang sangat mewah dan memiliki nilai artistik tinggi serta bisa menangkal polusi .

Kami Jasa Design dan Kontraktor Landscape akan menciptakan kreasi dari yang alakadarnya menjadikan kreasi taman yang memiliki nilai dan fungsi serta estetika yang tidak memiliki kegunaan utama dari sebuah taman, yaitu sebagai penyejuk dari sebuah bangunan dan sebagai penyaring polusi udara. Selama ini belum ada pelanggan kami yang komplin dari kinerja para pekerja kami, jadi Anda tidak perlu ragu lagi untuk memesan pembuatan taman rumput kepada kami, karena kualitas kami sangat terjamin.

Setiap pemilik rumah pasti menginginkan kenyamanan dan keindahan, dan taman di halaman rumah merupakan sebuah solusi untuk mendapatkan kenyamanan jika taman tersebut tertata dengan baik dan memiliki estetika yang tinggi. Konsep taman dapat memberikan nuansa alam rumah lebih ramah dengan gaya saat ini, serta dapat memberikan kesan bangunan lebih modern, yang mana konsep taman seperti ini lebih sering digunakan oleh para warga yang singgah diperkotaan besar

Jati inter Creativ-adalah sebuah layanan jasa tukang taman (vertical dan roofgarsen) di pulau jawa yang tepatnya di surabaya jawa timur, domisil cabang 2 jawa tengah semarang, solo, yogyakarta, domisili cabang 3 jawa barat jakarta, indonesia. Semua Pekerja Kami Berpengalaman bertahun-tahun dibidang pertamanan,tentu akan memberikan karya seni dibidang taman yang terbaik kepada pelanggan, kami bekerja berbasis karya seni yang berkualitas tinggi dengan menjunjung tinggi nilai profesionalitas dalam layanan jasa yang menjadi komitmen kerja kami.

Macam – macam jenis taman

Taman terbagi menjadi beberapa jenis diantaranya:

Taman Clasik

taman Mediterania

taman minimalis

taman bali

taman jepang

taman eropa

ROFF GARDEN (taman atap)

TAMAN VERTIKAL (taman dinding)

Taman Clasik

Taman Classic adalah taman dengan tempat yang luas dengan icon bonsai pelindung, jenis taman ini umumnya digunakan untuk perumahan elite, hotel, rumah sakit, sekolah, ataupunsarana pra fasilitas kota.|

 Taman mediterania

Ide Taman mediterania ialah ide dengan kombinasi warna yang diprioritaskan, taman ini didesain untuk lebih collorfull dengan ikuti tipe bangunan yang ada, punya taman ini yang didesain dengan pas tentunya akan menaikan harga pada suatu bangunan

Taman minimalis

Adalah Salah satu tolak ukur atau acuan yang dapat digunakan untuk menentukan apakah jenis taman ini merupakan taman minimalis atau bukan adalah luas taman dan penggunaan ornamen-ornamen di dalamnya

taman kering

Lanjut ada Konsep Taman Kering jenis taman ini memakai komponen yang tidak terlalu melibatkan unsur air di dalamnya, termasuk tumbuhan dan komponen hardscape seperti bebatuan menjadi pioner dalam pembuatan taman ini

Taman japan

Taman japan merupakan jenis taman yang di adaptasi dari negeri japan, taman jenis ini tentu saja memiliki ciri khas berupa tanaman dan ornamen khas japan,taman jenis ini tidak banyak melibatkan unsur air di dalamnya. Sebagai Tukang Taman Terbaik, dengan senang hati kami akan membantu Anda memilih beragam tanaman hias indoor, outdoor serta variasi kokedama untuk interior Anda

Taman eropa

Penggunaan tanaman bunga dengan warna yang sangat banyak, dipadukan dengan beberapa ornamen khas taman-taman di Eropa ialah ciri dari taman jenis ini.

Dalam taman Anda bisa merelaksasikan diri setelah seharian beraktifitas, mendengarkan suara desiran air, suara jangkrik, atau memandangi tanaman-tanaman yang ditanam. Kami Tukang Taman Menteng terbaik bisa mengatakan itu sangat tepat.

taman dinding (vertical garden)

Taman vertikal sesuai namanya adalah taman yang menempel di dinding yang biasanya mengunakan rangka besi dan tanaman kusus.

Cara membuat taman vertikal atau taman vertical garden adalah tanaman yang di tanam di dinding secara vertikal hampir sama dengan cara membuat taman secara umum, baik softscape maupun hardscape , yang disusun dalam bidang vertikal. Di dalamnya taman vertikal atau vertikal garden bisa berisi tanaman yang cocok untuk vertikal garden atau pohon untuk taman vertikal.

Konsep cara membuat taman vertikal ditembok ini sekarang banyak dikembangkan di kota-kota besar, utamanya karena ruang terbuka hijau yang makin terbatas. Tembok-tembok rumah kini bisa dibuat menjadi taman vertikal sederhana atau taman vertikal minimalis Per meter persegi pada griya taman vertikal bisa berisi 64 tanaman yang merupakan golongan jenis tanaman vertikal garden.

Fungsi tanaman hias vertikal sendiri tak ubahnya taman pada umumnya. Ia memberi tambahan oksigen, ruang hijau, serta mengurangi suhu udara. Satu-satunya perbedaan adalah taman vertikal garden tidak berfungsi sebagai penahan erosi. Prinsip cara membuat taman vertikal mirip dengan cara membuat tanaman hidroponik, yakni bertanam tanpa tanah.

Menurut Kami, cara membuat taman vertikal ada tiga prinsip utama yaitu kehidupan taman yang di tanam di dinding adalah sinar matahari, pupuk, dan air. Jadi, di manapun dan dengan cara membuat taman vertikal apa pun, selama 3 hal ini ada, Tanaman buat vertikal garden bisa hidup. Bahkan di daerah yang tidak ada sinar matahari sekalipun, pohon untuk taman vertikal bisa diberikan matahari buatan dengan bantuan lampu.

Semua Jenis Tanaman Untuk Vertical Garden media tanamnya harus dicari yang ringan, kuat, tapi tetap menyimpan air. Banyak media vertical garden yang digunakan, dua di antaranya adalah nonwoven geotextile dan velt dari sabut kelapa. Velt sabut kelapa, yang dibuat dalam bentuk seperti papan dengan ukuran 50 cm dan tebal 30 cm, lebih unggul dalam hal menyimpan air. Komponen semuanya dari dalam negeri, sementara geotextile masih impor, sehingga lebih mahal.

Dalam hal ketahanan, geotextile lebih unggul. Bisa tahan 15 tahun, sementara sabut kelapa berkisar 8 tahun karena berbahan organik yang bisa lapuk. Meski demikian, begitu akar sudah menjalin dengan sendirinya, maka ia akan menjadi media tanam itu tersendiri sehingga lebih tahan lama.

Untuk membuat taman vertikal vertikal sendiri , jenis tanaman vertikal garden bisa apa saja. Namun, meski semua jenis tanaman vertikal garden bisa ditanam ditembok, tetap harus memerhatikan faktor lingkungan. Jika taman vertikal gardenya di outdoor , sebaiknya pilih jenis tanaman hias vertikal yang jenis tanaman untuk vertikal garden outdoor , begitu pun untuk jenis tanaman hias vertikal yang di peruntukan untuk indoor Hindari tanaman dinding pagar merambat karena tumbuh liar kemana-mana dan usia dewasanya tinggi. Pilih tanaman untuk taman vertikal yang berjenis semak dan bisa hidup bertahun-tahun.

Fungsi tanaman hias vertikal sendiri tak ubahnya taman pada umumnya. Ia memberi tambahan oksigen, ruang hijau, serta mengurangi suhu udara. Satu-satunya perbedaan adalah taman vertikal garden tidak berfungsi sebagai penahan erosi. Prinsip cara membuat taman vertikal mirip dengan cara membuat tanaman hidroponik, yakni bertanam tanpa tanah.

Pada umumnya, cara membuat taman vertikal ada tiga prinsip utama yaitu kehidupan taman yang di tanam di dinding adalah sinar matahari, pupuk, dan air. Jadi, di manapun dan dengan cara membuat taman vertikal apa pun, selama 3 hal ini ada, Tanaman buat vertikal garden bisa hidup. Bahkan di daerah yang tidak ada sinar matahari sekalipun, pohon untuk taman vertikal bisa diberikan matahari buatan dengan bantuan lampu.

Taman atap (roof garden)

Taman atap atau roof garden merupakan taman yang dibangu diatas atap rumah atau bangunan gedung dengan mempertimbangkan struktur bangunan dalam segi kekuatan dan disain

cukup dengan lahan 4×4 meter persegi, anda sudah bisa menciptakan taman atap yang memadai. Sehingga anda harus memperhatikan tanaman yang akan ditanam agar bisa mencukupi lahan tersebut. Kebun yang berada di atap rumah rentang rusak atau hancur, apabila tidak dipasang penghalang angin. Untuk mengurangi angin yang bisa menghancurkan tanaman, maka anda dapat memasang tembok atau pagar. Tak hanya itu, anda juga harus mengetahui ketahanan atap rumah dalam menahan beban berat dari lapisan-lapisan media tanam serta pepohonan yang akan ditanam nantinya

Fungsinya adalah untuk menahan sekaligus menyaring air yang merembes dari pasir dan tanah. Konstruksinya anda bisa menggunakan {material|materials} cor beton bertulang dengan diameter besi {8|eight} mm. Tebal lantai daknya 20 cm untuk luasan 50 meter persegi. Sebagai pelapis tanah untuk taman di atap, rumput sintetis bisa menjadi jawaban. Meski beberapa akan menggunakan kayu atau bahkan membiarkan semenan sebagai alas untuk taman di atap

 Untuk pembuatan taman biasanya kita harus survey terlebih dahulu lokasinya,di sesuaikan dengan waktu luang anda atau dengan janji sebelumya agar kita bisa melakukan pengukuran lahan dan supaya kita dapat meminimalisir kesalahan. Taman atau gardening adalah sebuah objek yang dimana tempat berisikan komponen matrial keras dan lunak yang saling mendukung satu sama lainya , yang sengaja direncanakan, dibuat oleh tukang yang profesional dan pengalaman di dalam dunia pertamanan ini

Taman tak selalu identik dengan rumput dan tanaman hias, tetapi agar taman terlihat alami, Anda dapat menambahkan nuansa air berupa kolam hias air mancur Selain itu, gemericik air yang berbunyi akan menambah suasana taman yang sejuk, segar dan damai

SELAIN JASA PEMBUATAN TAMAN KAMI JUGA PROFESIONAL DALAM JASA PEMBUATAN

·         Kolam Tebing

·         Kolam Renang

·         Ornamen Dinding

·         Relif Tebing

·         Pemasangan Batu Carpor

·         Pengecatan Wash Motif Marmer

·         Macam – Macam Rumpit Taman

kolam tebing

apa sih yang di maksud dengan dekorasi kolam tebing ? Kolam tebing ialah sebuah pengaplikasian imajinasi manusia yang menyerupai alam dengan sentuhan tenaga ahli yang mempunyai nilai seni yang sangat tinggi. Dekorasi Kolam tebing adalah rakitan dari besi dan batu bata , rangkainya menyerupai pembuatan rumah dengan kekuatan yang tidak di ragukan lagi rakit bukan sekedar rakit , rakit dekorasi kolam tebing memiliki tingkat kesulitan yang sangat tinggi dan tidak sembarang orang bisa menirunya. Tukang rumah belum tentu dapat membuatnya karna dekorasi kolam tebing berasal dari imajinasi yang mengadopsi alam dengan bebatuan yang tidak beraturan dan berkelok kelok menyerupai air terjun alami. Dengan goresan goresan mahir dari seniman tebing atau tukang tebing profesional , dengan tahap pembuatan atau sampai tahap finishing yang membuat mata kita enggan terpejam seolah olah tebing alami di depan kita. Permainan cat yang menarik sesuai ke inginan clien kami cat yang agak gelap atau yang terang terserah ke inginan anda , dengan adanya dekorasi kolam tebing dengan secara tidak langsung akan menambah daya jual rumah ataupun tempat tinggal tersebut , harganya pun terjangkau tergantung skala dan tingkat pembuatanya.

Kolam Renang

Pada umumnya desain kolam renang di rumah akan terlihat lebih kecil dan minimalis namun desain kolam renang rumah akan lebih indah dan enak dipandang karena dapat menciptakan imajinasi sendiri. Namun ada beberapa yang harus di perhatikan dalam pembuatan kolam renang, terutama luas dan panjang serta kedalaman kolam renang. Teknik perawatan yang dilakukan Di h Jati inter Creativ sangat terperinci tidak sekedar membersihkan kolam renang dari daun dan kotoran. Banyak persiapan yang harus dilakukan mulai dari membuat desain, menggali lahan yang dalam dan dilanjutkan dengan memasang keramik atau dinding semen. Semua alur pekerjaan tersebut hanya bisa Anda temukan di Di Jati inter Creativ. Sesuaikan harga dengan jasa kontraktor dengan lebih rinci dan {detail element} agar tidak terjadi miss komunikasi yang merugikan salah satu pihak. Lihat dan pelajari kembali desain yang diajukan oleh kontraktor kolam renang tersebut sehingga saat melakukan proyek tersebut tidak akan membuang waktu dengan selalu merevisi bentuk yang telah dibuat

Lokasinya pun haruslah memenuhi syarat supaya aman dan nyaman untuk umun ataupun rumah pribadi anda. Anda dapat memilih lokasi yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan serta memperhatikan estetika maka akan menciptakan keindahannya. Hal itu supaya kolam renang yang digunakan dapat memberikan kenyamana pada saat Anda beraktivitas. Tujuan utama untuk pembangunan kolam renang itu sendiri adalah untuk memenuhi hasil yang maksimal. Selain itu, hal itu pun akan memberikan kenyamanan dan keindahan sesuai apa yang Anda harapkan dalam pembuatan kolam renang. ”Fasilitas ini bisa mengakrabkan cucu-cucu saya kalau sedang bertandang ke sini,” kata Paulus Sutarjo. Dengan kolam renang pribadi itu, Sutarjo yang sudah tua bisa menemani cucu-cucunya bermain. Untuk itu pula, Sutarjo melengkapi kolam renangnya dengan fasilitas permainan supaya cucu-cucunya betah bermain di rumahnya

Anda bisa minta bantuan kepada teman atau rekan yang sudah berpengalaman, karena pekerjaan ini termasuk pekerjaan yang cukup berbahaya. Hal utama yang perlu dilakukan sebelum melakukan proses pembuatan kolam renang adalah mempersiapkan lahan. Meskipun sebetulnya bisa dikerjakan oleh siapa saja yang memiliki keterampilan dan pengalaman membuat kolam renang akan lebih baik jika kolam renang dikerjakan oleh Jasa Kontraktor Kolam Renang yang profesional. Dengan menggunakan jasa layanan ini, tentu menciptakan kolam renang berkualitas sesuai keinginan. Seperti yang anda ketahui dalam Perawatan Kolam Renang kita harus tahu dosis dari kaporit atau chlorine yang akan di gunakan agar stabil

Mengerti tentang instalasi listrik sehingga bisa memasang lampu didalam kolam renang dan memasang panel diruang mesin. Tenaga Ahli dan berpengalaman lebih 9 tahun membuat pekerjaan kolam renang tepat waktu dan memberikan hasil yang memuaskan. Kami juga menjual mesin kolam renang dan untuk merawat kolam renang. Kami menyediakan pembuatan desain kolam renang yang tentunya akan sangat memuaskan. Disini anda harus jeli dalam memilih kontraktor dan menganalisa penawaran mereka. Kami tidak hanya menangani Pembuatan Kolam Renang untuk perusahaan, tapi kami juga menangani untuk pembuatan kolam renang perorangan.

pemasangan batu carport

Fasilitas ini biasa dikenal dengan sebutan Lantai Carport” meski sebutan carport sudah cukup familiar biasanya dengan menggunakan batu alam koral sikat atau berpaduan granit dengan batu koral sikat.

Tidak sedikit yang lebih mengenal sebutan kanopi untuk atap atasnya, pergola serta berbagai sebutan lainnya meski sesungguhnya yang dimaksudkan adalah lantai carport.

Lantai carport adalah bagian penting yang harus anda perhatikan pada waktu membuat bangunan carport. Selain konsep lantai, sesuatu yang sangat utama adalah bahan yang dipakai untuk lantai carport.

Ada beberapa macam bahan yang dipakai dalam membuat lantai carport mulai dari beton cetak hingga keramik. Namun tiap-tiap material mempunyai kesan serta keunggulan kualitas yang tidak sama.

pengecatan wash motif marmer

Cat Motif / Wash (Wosh) Adalah salah satu seni pengecatan terbaru dengan kombinasi dan perpaduan berbagai warna agar mendapatkan hasil yang menyerupai marmer, kayu, granit, awan awan ataupun lainya, cat wash kini sudah banyak di terapkan pada hunian di perkotakan, melihat hasil dari cat wash ini hamper mirip menyerupai batu marmer asli, Sehingga Anda pun tidak perlu memasang panel marmer asli dengan harga yang mahal.

Marmer adalah salah satu lambang kemewahan bercita rasa klasik. Rumah belum bisa dikatakan mewah jika tidak memiliki marmer. Karena harganya yang makin mahal, maka banyak orang menyiasatinya dengan teknik pengecatan. Teknik pengecatan untuk menimbulkan efek motif marmer pun sangat beragam. Berikut ini kami Sajikan JASA seni kami yg mendunia salah satu cara pengecatan dengan efek marmer yang paling mudah diaplikasikan.

MACAM –MACAM RUMPUT TAMAN

·         Rumput Jepang

·         Rumput Gajah Mini

·         Rumput Golf

 Tips menanam rumput jepang

1. Memilih rumput jepang

Biasanya, rumput ini dijual per meter atau dalam bentuk bongkahan, sehingga kamu harus menanam dan memisahkan tanamanya sedikit demi sedikit.

Berikut adalah kreteria yang harus diperhatikan ketika memilih bibitnya:

     . bibit harus berwarna hijau segar

     .bibit harus terlihat prima, tidak terserang hama dan penyakit, serta sehat dan kokoh

     .teksturnya keras dan tidak lay

Setelah mengetahui kreteria, ikuti tips di bawah ini

1. Pisahkan bibit kedalam kelomppok kecil

2. Pastikan tanaman ikut terpisah

3. Pastikan akartanaman tidak dipisahkan karena tanaman tidak bisa tumbuh tampa akar tersebut

2. Membuat lahan tanaman

1. Gembutkan lahan dengan cara mencangkulnya dengan kedalaman yang sesuai

2. Ratakan permukaan tanah tersebut hingga merata

3. Bersikan lahan tersebut dari sisa rumput dab batu

4. Jika dirasa kurang gembur, gunakan garpu untuk mengemburkanya kembali

5. Taburkan pupuk kandang pada lahan yang telah diolah (rasio perbandingan pupuk kandang adalah 2;5, setiap 1 meter ditaburi 2,5 kg pupuk kandang).

6. Siram lahan agar meresap dengan baik

7. Biarkan selama 5-7 hari hingga media tanam bisa digunakan

 3. Proses penanaman

1. Siram terlebih dahulu bibit yang akan ditanam untuk menghilangkan kotoran

2. Waktu terbaik untuk menanam untuk menanam rumput adalah sore

3. Buat lubang tanaman dengan jarak rapat 10 X 10 cm

4. Siram dengan air bersih secukupnya (gunakan gembor atau selang)

5. melakukan penanaman rutin di fase penanaman

4. Perawatan dan pemeliharaan

Tahapan ini memudahkan karena jika tidak dilakukan secara intensif, jangan harap rumput akan tumbuh secara optimal.

Berikut adalah detail yang harus kamu ketahui

1. lakukan penyiraman menggunakan air bersih 2 kali dalam sehari (pagi dan sore) dan gunakan selang atau gembor agar akar rumput tidak rusak.

2. Ketika umur dua minggu setelah tanam, gunakan pupuk orea dengan dosis kg untuk 10 meter persegi.

Sedangkan ketika umur sudah 1,5 bulan, gunakan pupuk TSP dengan dosis yang sama.

3. Penyiangan

Menyabut gulma atau rumput liar yang tumbuh dilahan tanamam harus dilakukan agar rumput jepang bisa tumbuh dengan seragam

 Selain itu, hal ini jugabisa mengusir serangga yang dapat merusak daun dari rumput

Tidak perlu menggunakan pestisida, cukup jaga lingkungan dan sanitasi lahan dengan bersih saja untuk merawatnya

4. Pemangkasan

ketika usia rumput sudah mencapai 3 bulan, lakukan pemangkasan agar akar rumput tetap terkena sinar matahari . hal ini membuat daun rumput tetap berwarna hijau, jika hal ini tidak dilakukan, warna rumput akan berubah menjadi kuning hingga kecoklatan, atau bahkan tanaman ini bisa mati

  Kami juga membuka layanan kemudahan juga para pelaku usaha yang ingin membuat Maket Rumah Mewah, Maket Apartemen, Maket Arsitek, Maket Airport, Maket Gedung Bertingkat, Maket Gudang, Maket Ekosistem Hutan, Maket Industri, Maket Interior Kamar Tidur, Maket Jembatan, Maket Kapal Pesiar , Maket Kawasan, Maket Kebun Binatang, Maket Kelautan, Maket Kilang Minyak, Maket Logistic Plan, Maket Master Plan, Maket Pabrik Kertas, Maket Perikanan, Maket Tambang, Maket Perumahan, Maket Pesawat Aeromodelling, Maket Pembangkit Listrik, Maket PLTU, Maket Power Plan , Maket Satellite, Maket Site Plan, Maket Kereta Api , Maket Storage plan, Maket Taman Bermain, Maket Terminal Bus, Maket Yatch, Maket Perkantoran, Maket Lapangan Voli, Maket Mesin, Maket Simulasi, Maket Sekolah Sehat, Maket Masjid,Maket Bangunan Sekolah dan lain-lain cocok dengan kebutuhan konsumen dengan skala yang diharapkan dengan hasil yang presisi dan berkualitas layak dengan mendukung serta harga yang cukup terjangkau

Sekarang ini banyak tukang atau pekerja yang dapat membuat taman,tapi kurang memuaskan kadang-kadang dari segi penataan atau penempatan bunga kurang pas untuk lokasinya,tetapi kami dapat menjamin, bila taman yang kita buat akan mampu membuat hunian Anda tampak lebih indah di pandang mata,tentunya dengan di dukung tenaga yang sudah ahli dalam desain dan penataan taman karna kami sudah berpengalaman dalam pembuatan taman dan sudah menyumbangkan banyak karya di berbagai rumah pribadi, kantor, hotel, apartemen taman wisata dan lain – lain.

Sebagai tukang taman profesional kami terus memantau, kami juga biasa membuat taman dengan konsep taman yang sesuai permintaan konsumen dan juga kami bisa menyesuaikan baget yang disediakan oleh konsumen demi kenyamanan konsumen namun dengan syarat dan kentuan yang disepakati.Selain Desain Taman Kami Juga Melayani Pengiriman Tanaman Dalam Jumlah Besar, Melayani Pengiriman Tanaman, Pohon Pelindung, Rumput, Tanaman Perdu, Tanaman Semak, Pupuk Dan Tanah Lembang Untuk Kebutuhan Pembuatan Taman

Kami adalah jasa tukang taman profesional berpengalaman yang telah berkecimpung selama puluhan tahun, dengan ratusan project landscape yang telah kami kerjakan, keputusan anda untuk memilih kami dalam menangani landscape tidak perlu ragukan lagi karena dengan tenaga ahli profesional berpengalaman & moto kami untuk memprioritaskan kenyaman pelangan dan hasil karya terbaik selalu memjadi rujukan kerja kami.

Ahir kata kami terimah kasih salam sukses dan selalu sehat ivanataman

082245349467

[janumun]

If you're up for it then can you please write a smut scenario for Arthur with a female reader? Thanks!

Sure am. (｀・ω・´)” Thank you for requesting!

After coming up with and crossing out a few other potential scenarios, this is what I came up with for Arthot.

Happy Reading!

.

Title: Of Swimsuits and Underwear

Rated 18+

Words: 1585 (I hit my limit with brevity at the moment. Perhaps my shortest piece of writing to date. I am incapable of shutting up in writing)

Tags: vaginal fingering, oral sex, arthur being a hoe

.

.

“Ohhh.”

Gloved hands traced across bare shoulders, inquisitive, probing.

“So this is what swimsuits are like in your time. Mm, I think I might be far more fond of these designs than the classic little skirt.” Arthur admired the bikini, hands still flitting across your body as he traced the material, continuing to heap praise upon praise for your choice of swim wear.

You smiled at him wanly as you noted the sparkle in his eyes, trying to stand still for him.

You had been in the middle of finally organizing your luggage after having stumbled into 19th century Paris a few months back. You had been putting away your swimsuit when Arthur had come to call upon you, the man’s sharp blue eyes immediately skirting towards the short material in your hands.

Arthur being Arthur had immediately questioned you about it, initially having mistaken it for fancy underwear, owing to how… scanty the outfit was, unlike any other swimwear Arthur had ever seen before in this time period.

You had happened upon and chosen it reflexively at a cute little store a few years back because of how it made your breasts look fuller (you hoped) but had never gotten the opportunity to actually wear it; your job kept you far too busy to actually have the time to go out on beach outings.

When you had told Arthur of your plans to dispose of it, he had promptly protested, imploring you to not throw it away (it was the big puppy eyes) and that he wished to see you in it at least once, if you really wanted to get rid of it after.

That had landed you in your current plight. While you were happy to be able to please him so, you also wanted him to stop fawning over you already so that you could get the hell away from those wandering hands of his.

Since what Arthur didn’t know was that his generous survey of your body was doing things to your mind, making you want to do unspeakable things with him in turn.

Being with Arthur all this time had clearly started to take a toll on you. You were turning out to be as bad as he was!

Just then, his fingers hooked under the straps of your top, gliding against the material, down down towards your breasts, before he let go, but not before an audible gasp escaped your throat.

Those bright eyes were on you in an instant, noting your reaction, before a mischievous smile took his face. “Oh?” He murmured in obvious understanding.

“You – you’re wrong!”

“Aha, whatever am I wrong about? These lips haven’t uttered a word!”

“J-just don’t,” you stammered, flustered beyond belief. “That was a mistake.”

“Ah, but you see, my dear, if there’s anything I’ve learned throughout this long life of mine, it's that a woman’s body never lies.” With that, his hands came around your breasts from behind, gently squeezing.

“A-Arthur!” you admonished weakly.

“What’s with the cute reaction? Why, aren’t I just admiring this wonderful little thing?” You weren’t sure he was even talking about the bikini anymore.

Chin placed on your shoulder from behind, his hair tickled at your cheeks as he continued to shamelessly grope at your breasts.

A stifled moan escaped you when his thumb brushed against your pebbled peak. “And would you look at this.” He chimed in a singsong voice, fingers pinching at the apex of your breasts. You leaned back into him, breath leaving you in a shuddering sigh.

One hand busy at your chest, the other sneaked back against your spine, tracing the notches in between before it settled at the curve of your pelvis – just above your waistband.

Two gloved fingers slipped beneath your bikini bottom, lazily pulling at the stretchy material before promptly letting go. The fabric recoiled, snapping back against your buttocks with an audible slap.

“Ah!”

“What limber fabric! Truly a marvel. I wonder what it’s made of.”

Arthur Conan Doyle, you are an ass.

“Arthur, just touch me already!”

You heard him chuckle behind you in obvious delight. “Whatever my lady wishes for, I shall see it done.” Bringing a hand up to his mouth, he pulled at the finger of his glove, smoothly letting it slide off, before dropping it somewhere on the floor.

Naked hand now slid along your stomach, pushing you back into him before dipping lower, right under your bikini.

You shivered at the feeling of cool fingers at your entrance, gently probing as they delved into you. “You’re delightfully moist. What a naughty girl I’ve got, to get this wet when I merely wished to appreciate you in your charming swimsuit.”

“Ugh, don’t say it like that.” Your cheeks were flaring red and despite your state, you moved to hide your face in your hands.

Arthur tsk-tsked at the gesture before swatting your hands away. “Don’t do that! How am I supposed to do this if you cover that lovely face of yours?”

You tilted your head towards him questioningly. “Do what-?”

His grinning lips were on yours before you had even finished voicing your query, tongue sweeping out to lick at your mouth. You groaned, parting your lips, allowing Arthur to relish you as he wished.

Arthur tasted of the coffee you had brewed him just this morning and the taste felt intoxicating as it mingled with yours between hungry mouths.

You ran your tongue against his, letting it slide up to his fangs next, licking at the base of them, where you knew he was sensitive. Arthur jerked against you, groaning into your mouth as you did so.

“Oh, what an utter tease I have on my hands.” He moaned in mock protest before kissing you hard, his fingers working your soaked pussy even harder as he brought you fast to the edge… right before he stopped.

You cried out in protest just as Arthur pulled away from your mouth with an audible smack, licking those devious lips as he did so.

Moving around you, he bent to lean at your feet. Face right in front of your groin, he flashed an impish smile up at you. “Can’t allow you to waste yourself all over the carpet, can I? I want to watch you as you come on my face.”

You blushed at his crude wording. Staring down at him, you nodded your consent. Arthur’s face lit up, eyes crinkling up adoringly before he directed that focus at your skimpily clad pussy. Pushing just the edge of your swimwear aside so that he had a clear view of your glistening folds, he buried his face into you enthusiastically.

You mewled at the feel of his wet tongue, lapping at you ardently as if you were spilling out Rouge instead of your own essence into his mouth.

Expert fingers joined his tongue as Arthur sought to push you to madness, tongue curling this way and that, even as his fingers thumbed and pinched at your swollen nub.

“Ah darn it, you’re heavenly… mm… it’s never quite enough no matter how many times I have a taste.” Arthur’s seductive voice was low, muffled against your folds but you heard every word as it vibrated into you deliciously, the heat carrying over, coiling low in your stomach.

Your legs were positively shaking at this point and you instinctively grabbed at his hair to keep yourself steady. Arthur’s hands snaked behind you to grab at your ass as he maneuvered you even closer into himself.

Your pleasure was building, you felt the pressure as it tightened within, with each deft stroke of that sly tongue.

“Arthur, I’m almost –”

“Do you want me to make you feel even better?”

Your thoughts felt like cotton and you were answering him before you even thought of it. “Ah yes, Arthur, please make me –”

You tumbled off the edge just as Arthur pulled off of you, immediately moving to sink his fangs into the soft flesh of your inner thigh and you screamed. Vision going white, you felt your insides squeeze hard, violent orgasm taking you with the pleasure of having his fangs inside, sucking at your blood, his saliva carrying over its aphrodisiac qualities to leave you completely drained.

You could stand no longer and stumbled but Arthur was there to catch you as you fell to the floor, dragging you underneath him.

He had the most satisfied look ever as he gazed down at you, thumb swiping at the wetness of his cheek before he sucked it into his mouth. “Well, wasn’t that a raving success, seeing as you did just squirt all over me.”

You finally noticed the odd sticky wetness of his face when he pointed it out. “Oh God, Arthur! I’m so sorry!” Shooting up into a sitting position, you fumbled around for a kerchief to clean him off. Finding nothing remotely like a cloth in the vicinity, you extended trembling hands to his face before he caught them in his grasp.

“No need, my dear. Besides, I rather enjoyed the appetizer.” He made a show of deliberately licking at the corners of his mouth as he said so; making you blush all over again… before it hit you.

“Wait… appetizer?” you echoed.

He pulled one of your hands to his mouth to kiss at the knuckles, playful eyes staring up into yours. “Of course. After all…” his voice faded into an alluring whisper as he moved to place your hand on his clothed dick. “…I’m not fully sated yet.”

.

[gamesmaza]

The New PUBG Mobile 0.8.0 Will Come With New Vehicles, Map And Weapons

According to a survey, it's been proven that many Android mobile users like to spend their time playing a web game on your mobiles and desktops. So, Pubg Tournament app on mobile are developing at a far greater rate than the other technologies. In today's tech-savvy world, Android and iPhone games hit a replacement height of success per annum. Various multiplayer online games like Racers vs. Cops, Badminton league, crazy racing, and Terraria game for Android, iPhone, and desktops which is very appreciated by kids and kids.

In March of this year, PUGB Corporation launched player Unknown’s battlegrounds- maybe a multiplayer batter royal online game for both Android and is. This online game comes with tons of features with this helps users feel natural on mobile devices. Almost online games require a code for enjoying with other player but there's no special invite code require at launch in PUBG. Automatic upgrade looting, automatic sprinting, bots, login bonuses, and other features make this PUBG game more popular among sports lovers. Consistent with android headlines, the recognition of this game has reached 3.1 million from its 1.7 million from androids. Consistent with the info, it's also revealed that half-hour of PUBG mobile US players are women. So, it is often said that not only men but also women are crazy for this awesome and creative full online game.

Seeing its popularity, the remake PUBG 0.8.0 is going to be launched till the end of September which adds a bunch of latest and advanced features to make sure better user experience. PUBG is a web multiplayer battle royal game where many players parachute onto the battlefield and that they get there many weapons and vehicles and win the match by killing all players. It’s expected that the New Map In Pubg Mobile and other improvements which may increase its popularity and downloads. During this article, we are getting to tell you about the approaching new features and enhancements of PUBG update version 0.8.0.

Let's take a view on the features & improvements of latest update version game-

New Map: Sonhok

PUBG 0.8.0 version will accompany a replacement map that called sonhok. It’s supported forests of South East Asia with this help, players can see the way easily. Sonhok is one-quarter of other maps during a game because it's 4.4 x 4.4 km in area. It’ll accompany the potential to air-dropped the 100 players within the classic model of a game which might add spice things into the sport and make it more interesting among players.

New Weapon: QBZ

Beta version of 0.8.0 PUBG game will accompany a replacement weapon a replacement assault gun QBZ which uses 5.56 mm ammo and can be a replacement of Scar-L.

New Vehicles

Beta version of PUBG 0.8.0 will introduces with two vehicles that called UAZ and Muscle car. These vehicles are large in size and are perfect for both covering and transportation purposes.

Other improvements-

·        Before starting this game, 20 apples will give to the players for throwing practice.

·        With the new option on the setting screen, a player can set the manual limit of learning the ammo for each gun automatically.

·        It is additionally expected that new weapon skins will release.

For more info :- Most expensive game in the world

Visit us for social media update’s :-

https://www.instagram.com/games.maza/

https://www.facebook.com/gmazainfo/

[batdadrph]

a multi-muse survey

taken from here! tagged by the lovely @berk-iswriting~

name of your favorite muse: uh, I’m biased and will always choose Johnny Larson. I’d be nothing without my daily dose of Justy goodness. plus where would I be if I hadn’t started the shenanigans with Sunny like... six years ago?

name of your very first muse: technically, Aerik Morel even though he’s only recently come back into the writing rotation. he goes all the way back to my Gaia Online days, with a story that’s developed quite fantastically from a scarred youth that barely spoke to the doctor that only reveals his true colors to one person.

name of your meanest muse: arguably between Chad Charming and Oz the Great. they’re both assholes who purposefully segregated and shunned people before. have they redeemed themselves? yes, but they still have much growing up to do.

name of your nicest muse: it’s between Cyrus McCleary and Wasabi No-Ginger. they’re just a couple of good boys that could never do any wrong ok.

name of your most troubled muse: Kai Henrie probably. something about being the Knave's son and housing the Jabberwock’s soul fucks with a person’s head.

character you have the most muse for atm: three-way tie with Alex “Anybodys” Manalo, Jude McCartney, and Danny Zuko cuz of @musicalhqs cuz I’ve been doing nothing but building up their profiles on my free time, it’s fine. lowkey shoutout.

two of your muses that would never get along: mm... I wanna say Bruce Wayne and Yen Sid. they’re both fatherly figures that have different ideals and methods for raising their kids. I can see them clashing heads a lot.

two of your muses that could be best friends: Isko Daclan-Chang and Teddy Lupin for sure! like no hesitation. they’d be down for a good old-fashioned LAN party.

two of your muses that would make a cute couple: if I had to pick, probably Ale Khalid and Ellie Valiant. sweet and sassy baker paired up with the security guard with a chip on her shoulder? sounds like a good rom-com.

two of your muses that are most similar: Stefan Aleksandrov and Tucker Theroux. broken homes, forced into roles they never wanted, murderers for hire with a propensity for classical music and too much alcohol? they’d get along wonderfully.

name of the muse you’d be best friends with irl: probably Sam Morton. late-night movies, pizza, and useless spell-weaving while a fluffy doggo faerie demands head pats every few seconds? sounds like a great way to chill.

name of the muse you’d probably hate irl: Wylie Hardy tbh. last thing I need to deal with in my life is a nympho, let alone one that’s a smartass to boot lmao.

a faceclaim you’ve been eager to use: Daniel Henney for the most part. I’ve been craving using Mayor Saul i.e. my former bounty hunter and infamous thief that “inherits” his father’s position and struggles to think on behalf of a post-apocalyptic town instead of his own selfish needs.

tagged: @caroldanversrps, @elly0009, @queenelsawritess, @robbaerywrites, @svnnyrps, @templemans, @youcancallmepookiebear, and anyone else reading this that wants to!

[pumpmans]

MM CLASSIC TUMBLR SURVEY!!

hi everyone hope ur doing well... i wanted to bring your attention to this survey that hopefully will characterize all the things about the mm classic community on tumblr! id super duper appreciate it if you took 5 minutes to fill it out and spread it around (im not certain it will show up in the tags bc of the links)... im looking forward to your responses!

more about the quiz below

why the survey? so if you're in the fandom you know that its a small little place here on tumblr dot com... everyones kind of got their corners and thats what makes friendships on here so strong! i wanted to find a proper way to characterize this and show what we all tend to be up to... its honestly just for silly reasons but im happy to hear from you all!

what will happen with this information? all thats gonna happen is ill eventually make a post showing the trends for all of us to look at! this survey is completely anonymous so dont worry about that... judgement free zone here

should i reblog this post? PLEASE... i dont really think i show up in the tags but the links to the survey definitely will make this hard to spread too

if you have any other questions please let me know and ill answer them and probably add them here. thanks again for taking the survey (another link: https://forms.gle/bM9fH7HjVpNCnU6U8) and i hope to hear from you soon!

[ozaoalam-blog]

https://www.smore.com/5407h-neck-relax-reviews

Neck Relax More than around 0.5 mm of alleviation under the bass strings and anything over 0.3 mm under the trebles can make your left hand buckle down. and the string activity statures at the twelfth fret appear to be sensible, yet the left hand despite everything feels burdened, the guitar may have over the top alleviation. On the off chance that the alleviation is cosmically high, basically locating down the edge of the fingerboard along the length of the sixth string will uncover a curve. To survey the genuine measure of alleviation, utilize the symptomatic test underneath. The help ought to in a perfect world be near zero underneath the first string and no more noteworthy than 0.5 mm underneath the sixth. 

It's commonly shrewd to leave a guitar with unreasonable help. Then again, the nonappearance of alleviation may not be a major issue for certain players inasmuch as the left hand is agreeable. It truly relies upon the idea of their correct hand assault and whether it is inclined to making the strings buzz. In the same way as other things in guitar, Neck Relax it comes down to player inclination. counsel your neighborhood luthier. There are cures that could improve your left hand playability, however they require critical work costing in the area of $500 or more.

Neck Relax Utilizing the worried string section as a straight edge, search for the hole between the highest point of the frets and the base of the sixth string as appeared in the left board of the chart beneath. Generally speaking, the biggest hole you can spot ought to be between 0.2–0.5 mm for string 6, and continuously less for the others. You can evaluate the size of the hole by sliding the edge of a charge card close to the hole. The card is roughly 0.7 mm thick, so on the off chance that you can slide the card into the hole without moving the string, you certainly know you have extreme alleviation. 

Then again, if the hole is little, it tends to be hard to see. Take a stab at hitting the string over one of the frets with a left hand finger while as yet worrying with the correct hand finger at the nineteenth Neck Relax You will hear a particular "plink" that means the nearness of a hole. Stage 2: Turn the guitar around so you can get a decent gander at the first string while you rehash the system for the first string. There ought to be no or incredibly little help under the first string, as appeared in the correct board of the chart above. In the event that the alleviation on the first string is more than roughly 0.2 mm, you have inordinate help.

Neck Relax Luthiers ordinarily make alleviation by joining 1) the normal twisting of the neck brought about by string pressure and 2) the planing and sanding of the fingerboard in a key area. The outcome is a conveyance of help portrayed in red in the photograph beneath. This spatial dissemination changes for the bigger developments of the bass strings contrasted with that of the trebles. It's superfluous and awkward for the left hand to have help under the first and second strings.

The motivation behind why steel string guitars have bracket bars is to counter the string pressure that is generally twice that of an old style.Neck Relax The support pole is fixed to fix the unavoidable arch of a steel string neck. Since the string strain on classicals is moderately low, bracket bars are commonly pointless if the neck is appropriately worked with quality materials and conceivably the addition of carbon fiber poles. Sporadically, contemporary old style guitars are furnished with support bars which give the chance to tweak the alleviation. Furthermore, that is a wrap on Guitar Care 101! For additional from our old buddy Gary, make certain to look at his site and give him a follow on his Facebook page. We'll be concocting more tasks with Gary later on, so stay tuned!

Neck Relax Garrett Lee has delighted in playing guitar since the age of nine. In 1999, his interest and interest with guitar configuration, combined with his affection for woodcraft, attracted him to start building old style guitars. Prepared as an exploration researcher with a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, he delighted in a fruitful profession in scholastic research and later, in biotechnology. He was constrained by the test and interest of lutherie to progress to full-time working in 2006.

Gary's exploration foundation moves inventiveness, keen plan, and demanding execution. His handmade old style guitars fuse conventional and contemporary structure. Halfway through his turn of events, Gary got mentorship from observed American luthier John Gilbert.Neck Relax The tonebase Guitar blog — home for all things tonebase and Classical Guitar. Including exhortation from world-class entertainers, week after week refreshes and more. Supercharge your playing with the tonebase blog!

go to main website 50% : https://www.smore.com/5407h-neck-relax-reviews

https://www.hebergementweb.org/threads/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews.270320/ http://chiaselamdep.net/threads/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews.61588/ http://adipositas.selbsthilfegruppe-in.de/directory/psychologe/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-1.html https://wsio.pl/threads/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews.9939/ http://taylorhicks.ning.com/forum/topics/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews http://kultursommer2011.frauen4um.de/t2250f2002-https-www-smore-com-h-neck-relax-reviews.html#msg2265 http://benjis.tier4um.com/t12808f2015-https-www-smore-com-h-neck-relax-reviews.html#msg32101 http://instant.clan4um.com/t7873f2005-https-www-smore-com-h-neck-relax-reviews.html#msg9135 http://poickgend13.xobor.de/t47f2-https-www-smore-com-h-neck-relax-reviews.html#msg48 http://forum.finalfencing.co.uk/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-td14652.html http://www.cerebralpalsyforum.net/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-t55097.html http://www.snooth.com/talk/topic/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-2/ http://tabletforum.de/threads/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews.63846/ http://braeuer.familien4um.de/t9749f2009-https-www-smore-com-h-neck-relax-reviews.html#msg9776 http://phiafrica.com/directory/F/spanish/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-1.html http://forum.rspwfaq.net/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-td21009.html http://www.virtuellement.com/OC/abonnements-clubs-forme/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-2.html http://seni123.com/seni-ukir/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-2.html http://forum.primarykamaster.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-td11097.html https://www.eredan-arena.com/forum/index.php?thread/53597-https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews/ https://cityclassify.com/list/view/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews?aid=60074 http://www.goqna.com/14582/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews https://www.advertisinghunt.net/awpcp/show-ad/40383/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews/ https://messageboards.webmd.com/living-healthy/f/weight-loss/115362/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews https://www.kongregate.com/forums/2-off-topic/topics/1908568-https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews https://www.saatchiart.com/art-collection/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews/1590792/363119/view https://trycbdmiraclepainpatch.lighthouseapp.com/projects/143747-cbd-miracle-pain-patch/tickets/2-httpswwwsmorecom5407h-neck-relax-reviews http://http-www-onlinehealthsupplement-com-cbd-miracle-pain-patch.258087.n8.nabble.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-td3.html http://ads4world.com/footwear/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-2.html https://www.bhitmagazine.com.ng/writers/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-2/ http://ozaoalam.mybjjblog.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-10187329 http://ozaoalam.total-blog.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-20234298 http://ozaoalam.full-design.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-33453060 http://ozaoalam.affiliatblogger.com/28494777/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews http://ozaoalam.blogolize.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-32801939 http://ozaoalam.alltdesign.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-15569737 http://ozaoalam.blogminds.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-9607408 http://ozaoalam.uzblog.net/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-10217553 http://ozaoalam.amoblog.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-16941158 http://ozaoalam.blogkoo.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-14530599 http://ozaoalam.qowap.com/29097124/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews http://ozaoalam.canariblogs.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-10993952 http://ozaoalam.isblog.net/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-12649532 http://ozaoalam.ampblogs.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-31209435 http://ozaoalam.blog5.net/32108460/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews http://ozaoalam.tinyblogging.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-32286685 ozaoalam.tinyblogging.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-32286685 http://ozaoalam.thezenweb.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-34114817 http://ozaoalam.thezenweb.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-34114812 http://ozaoalam.pages10.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-32532718 http://ozaoalam.ampedpages.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-25782355 http://ozaoalam.pointblog.net/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-30705958 http://ozaoalam.pointblog.net/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-30705958 http://ozaoalam.pointblog.net/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-30705952 http://ozaoalam.pointblog.net/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-30705952 http://ozaoalam.blogzet.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-9902204 http://ozaoalam.tblogz.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-10028248 http://ozaoalam.blogdigy.com/https-www-smore-com-5407h-neck-relax-reviews-9570445

[eldritchsurveys]

555.

How are you feeling right now? >> Neutral.

Have you ever felt empty? >> Sure.

What do you do when you are feeling depressed? >> I haven’t been depressed since February, and then I did what I normally do, just with a greater level of irritation, silence, apathy, and disconnection. 

Do you engage in self destructive behaviours? >> When I’m particularly overwhelmed, yeah. It’s a reflex at this point.

Are you taking any perscription medications? If so, what? >> No.

Are you wearing any nail polish? >> No.

When was the last time you cried? Why did you cry? >> I don’t remember.

Do you ever cry for absolutely no reason? >> I mean, I assume there’s always a reason even if I can’t figure it out at the time.

Do certain songs take you back to certain memories? >> Sure. 

Can simply listening to a song change your emotions? >> Sure.

Are you religious? >> Hmm.

What is your favourite time of year? >> I don’t have one.

Are you worried about anything? >> No.

Have you ever listened to opera? >> Sure.

Do you enjoy classical music? >> Sure, I just don’t go out of my way to listen to it.

Do you play an instrument? >> No.

What is your favourite decade? >> ---

If you could travel back in time where would you go? >> I wouldn’t do that.

Have you ever been to Europe? If so, what country? If not, would you like to go someday? >> No. Sure, I’d love to go someday.

What was your first pet? What was its name? >> A Rottweiler named Roxie.

Do/Did you have plans today? >> I had no plans. I thought about going to the library but I couldn’t be bothered with the effort.

If you were to look in the mirror what would you see? >> Me...?

Is there something you are hiding from someone? >> Not actively.

Who is most important in your life right now? >> Me.

Are you missing anyone? >> No.

Do you wish you were somewhere else? >> No.

Do you like the snow? >> Not particularly, not anymore.

Do you recycle? >> No.

Have your parents ever lied to you about something really important? >> Yeah.

Do you forgive easily? >> I eventually just get tired of being upset about shit, but I don’t think I’d call that forgiveness.

What do you consider your best quality? Worst quality? >> Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think of myself like that too often.

Do you plan on having children in the future? >> No.

What was the last thing you ate? >> Some dark chocolate shortbread cookies with sea salt that are shaped like small stars.

Are you taking this survey to get your mind off of something? >> No.

Do you like surprises? >> Mm, occasionally.

Are you patient? >> I can be.

Do you like lemon with your iced tea? >> Yes.

Are you listening to music? If so what song? >> I’m not.

Do you get embarrassed easily? >> I really don’t.

Are you an insomniac? >> No.

What was the name of the last movie you watched? >> Secretary.

Do you text a lot? >> Nope.

Do you live in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri or Kansas? >> Nope.

Do you ever feel guilty over things you can't change? >> No.

Are you a perfectionist? >> No.

Have you ever been to a funeral for someone you were really close to? >> No.

Have you ever just known something but you don't know how or why? >> I don’t really consider that knowledge, per se. A “gut feeling” or something, maybe.

Can you cook? If so what is your favourite thing to cook? >> I can cook, but I don’t have a favourite thing to cook.

Do you have a bf/gf/husband/wife? If so how long have you been together? >> Yes. Eight years or something like that.

What is the worst breakup you have been through? >> *shrug*

Do you prefer being single or in a relationship? >> I don’t have a preference. Well, okay, that’s not entirely true. I do prefer being solo, but I guess being in this particular relationship is the next best thing.

Would you stick through an abusive relationship just so you aren't single? >> Hell fucking no.

Are you in love? >> No.

What flavour of gum is your favourite? >> I like bubble gum.

Does my spelling of flavour and favourite bother you? >> No, I spell it the same way.

Do you believe in traditional husband/wife roles? >> I think they’re appropriate for the people who find them appropriate. I am not one of those people.

Are you obsessed with anything? >> Sometimes.

Are you addicted to anything? >> No.

Do you like to read? >> I sure do.

Do you cry often? >> Nope.

Do you hide your true emotions around most people? >> Yeah.

Do you lie to save other peoples feelings? >> Sometimes.

Do you write in a journal or diary? >> Yeah, I keep a journal on dreamwidth.

Are you waiting/hoping for someone to call you? >> Nooooo.

Do you believe in a higher power? >> Meh.

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

@beturass requested the prompt “things you said that made me feel real” -- thanks for your patience with this one, I hope you like it :)

[major thanks goes out to @motherfuckingjonesy for helping me get this posted sooner!]

Josh x Donna, The West Wing. Also on AO3.

“I couldn’t do this without you.”

She isn’t sure what to do when faced with an ancient-looking book about skiing instead of any of the Christmas gifts she actually asked for, but luckily Donna’s parents raised her with classic Midwestern manners, so she recovers quickly and offers him a polite, if baffled, smile.

He tells her there’s an inscription, which at least gives her a reason to crack the book’s weathered spine. As soon as she starts reading, she realizes the inscription is the real gift. Josh isn’t a writer like Sam or Toby, but he always says what he means, and she’s in the middle of her workday trying not to tear up. 

She needed this job; not just to pay bills and get out of a college town that was drowning in bittersweet memories, but for herself. Her relationship turned out to be a tragedy, she’d loved her classes but never managed to find a major that really fit, and now she was on her own without even a degree to show for it. She had to be good at something.

And it turned out she was really good at this, the White House--working for Josh in particular. They clicked right away, no matter how much he whined about getting his own coffee or insisted on messing up her careful organization of his desk. She’s an excellent assistant to the Deputy COS.

But knowing that doesn’t quiet the doubts, the voice in her head that likes to remind her where she came from and how unqualified she is to be here. In the Bartlet Administration she’s surrounded by the smartest people she has ever met...and she’s picking up their lunch orders and answering the phone.

One sentence in the middle of Josh’s scrawled handwriting jumps out at her and nestles itself deep in her heart. “I couldn’t do this without you,” it says, before thanking her for all her hard work this year.

As silly as it might be, the idea that Leo’s right hand man needs her makes her want to cry. All she wanted was to find her place, and make a difference, and now here she is. Getting a gift like this from him.

Josh wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true, she thinks, hugging him and not caring what it looks like. His face is pressed into her shoulder, breathing her in, and Donna has to crack a joke to break the moment.

Anything to cover up how much she doesn’t want to let go.

****

“Stay with me.”

Josh is in and out of consciousness in his hospital bed, voice weak but smile genuine whenever he sees her. 

Of course Donna has work she should be doing, she knows that things are busier than ever since the shooting, and with Josh out of commission she feels a greater responsibility to keep his office running smoothly--but she’s still by his side more than anyone else, juggling administrative duties with cafeteria runs that he doesn’t even appreciate.

Nobody says anything about her using the hospital as a second office, though Margaret watches her carefully and Carol shoots her sympathetic glances whenever she leaves the White House. Her friends know her well enough not to worry out loud; it would just make it harder on so many levels.

He almost died. 

She still sees him through that observation window when she closes her eyes, blood-covered and surrounded by surgical staff. The nightmares are worse, a million variations where he dies on the table, or Toby never finds him and he dies trying to hold himself together in Rosslyn, or he falls into a coma and never wakes up again.

But warring with the anxiety Donna feels over almost losing him is a not-insignificant amount of guilt over feeling as anxious as she does. It’s disproportionate to the nature of their relationship, and makes as little sense as her certainty that the more time she spends with him, the safer he’ll be.

If she talked to somebody about it, she knows they would point out the obvious: she wasn’t there, when the bullet found Josh. She wasn’t with him, he got hurt, therefore being with him might mean he won’t get hurt. It’s childish logic but she’s clinging to it anyway. And she’s telling no one, because that would mean admitting how much she cares and he’s her boss and she knows the way they would look at her then, how they would act.

It’s bad enough he almost died alone. She refuses to lose him for any other reason.

In the antiseptic quiet of his new room, Josh reaches for her on the first day they’ve moved him out of the ICU. Donna’s tidying the stack of forms she brought with her and packing them up--she jumps a little when he grips her wrist.

"You’re awake.”

“Mm. You’re leaving? You just got here.”

It’s been three hours, she stops herself from pointing out. His eyes are half-shut against the medication they’re using to fight the pain, and she doesn’t have the heart to correct him.

“I have to get these back to the office,” she says instead. 

Josh blinks against the fatigue. “Margaret’s sending someone later,” he remembers out loud. “Leo needs...something. Don’t remember what. You could pass them back then.”

It would be too easy to fall into a rhythm of never leaving, Donna thinks. Just phone calls to the West Wing and messenger service and a laptop. That’s not what her job is supposed to be. 

His fingers flex against her skin, getting her attention. “It’ll all be there tomorrow,” he says quietly.

Josh is right about that part. She can count on the work to still be there tomorrow. 

It’s a miracle that he’s still here today.

Donna nods to herself, and smiles at him, disentangling her arm from his grasp. “All right,” she says, setting her bag back down. “Want to watch TV? Or I can read you the paper.”

“My head hurts,” he admits, laying back against the pillow. “I don’t care what we do. Just...please. Stay with me.”

She stays late and falls asleep at an awkward angle in the chair next to him, an hour after he does. The nurses have to kick her out in the morning.

****

“It’s going to be okay.”

When Josh opens his door and finds Donna standing there, crutches in hand, he blinks at her blankly for several seconds before he finds any words. His hair is sticking up a little; she’s pretty sure he fell asleep on his couch again.

“Donna?”

“Hi.”

“What...” He rubs his eyes. “You know it’s 1 o’clock in the morning, right?”

If she didn’t, his shorts and thin white tank top would have tipped her off. She lifts a shoulder. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Brow furrowed, Josh steps back. She brushes past him on her way to his kitchen and he trails after. “Everything okay?”

“What have you got to drink in here?” Donna’s already opening the fridge while she asks. She surveys the contents critically, ignoring his question.

“Not much. You came to raid my beer?”

“I was hoping for something stronger.” With a sigh, she grabs a bottle anyway and takes it to his living room, sinking onto the couch before she opens it.

“You know, if you’re in the mood for a drink, they have these places called bars...”

“The last place I want to be is a bar right now,” Donna replies. 

“But you wanted to be here in my apartment at 1 a.m.?”

“Josh, you know that thing you do where you get drunk and show up at my place in the middle of the night and sleep it off?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you owe me one.”

He moves her crutches out of the way and joins her on the couch, trying to decipher her tone. “I’m not saying I mind. You just don’t do this often. Or ever. In the last six years.”

Donna sips her beer and doesn’t respond, watching as Josh huffs out a breath and drags a hand through his hair.

“Talk to me. What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She swallows hard. “Everything.”

“Is your physical therapist giving you a hard time? Because you know I’m ready to--”

“To what? Snark him to death?”

Her words come out sharp, and she knows she doesn’t sound like herself, but she can’t take them back. That’s been happening more and more lately, Donna thinks as Josh stares. Blurting out the words on the tip of her tongue, kicking herself for not being able to hold them back, not knowing how to apologize for things she was thinking--whether they’re appropriate or not.

She’s just so tired. 

“It’s not physical therapy,” she admits, staring at the bottle in her hand instead of at him. “It’s all of it. The explosion, the hospital, the nightmares. Everybody who means well and checks in seven times a day about how I’m feeling. It’s too much.”

Donna’s voice cracks, and Josh leans over to grab her beer. He takes a drink before setting it aside; the casual familiarity in that makes her smile a little. 

She’s waiting for him to make a joke to lighten the mood. He’s always been good at that. Josh is much better at avoiding heavy feelings than dealing with them, a skill she envies lately since she can’t stop feeling crushed by the weight of hers.

It’s surprising when he turns toward her instead, his dark eyes serious as he reaches for her hand and holds it. “You came to the right place.”

She wasn’t actually looking for sympathy when she found herself heading his way, Donna thinks. A comfortable place to get numb, where even if she can’t sleep--and lately she’s barely sleeping at all--at least she won’t be alone. Faced with his sincerity, she feels the tears come against her will. 

Josh pulls her against his chest as soon as they start falling, shifts so that her ear is resting right above his heart. “I was where you are, remember?” He whispers against her cheek. “I’ve still got the scars.”

It’s only been four years, of course she remembers. She can still taste the fear that soured the back of her throat when Toby told her. The memory makes her cry harder, all of it mingling together into gulping sobs with Josh’s arms keeping her close. 

Donna would be embarrassed if she had any energy to spare...she shouldn’t be here like this, with him. Especially with him.

But he’s still holding her, grounding her in the moment, and he doesn’t let go. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Josh murmurs, over and over until the tears stop. And as hard as it is to believe right then, she tries. 

Because he’s right, he has been where she is. 

He’s the only one who really has.

And knowing that Josh understands what she can’t find the words for, Donna feels safe for the first time since she woke up in Germany.

[may-may-gay-gay-blog]

Coca-Cola Lipbalm and Chocolate Ice Cream

Jiang Wanyin was sitting on the floor of her room, a fan in front of her, the only thing saving her from melting on to the floor beneath her. It was scorching hot in the house, and it didn’t help that the air conditioner decided that now would be a lovely time to break. ‘Wei Wuxian probably had something to do with it.’ The raven haired female thought to herself, staring up at the ceiling. The minute her sister had heard about the AC breaking, she immediately headed to her girlfriend’s house to spend the night there. Jiang Wanyin’s parents were out who knows where, probably trying to avoid sitting in the sauna they call a house. Her brother was also out somewhere she didn’t know. Meaning Jiang Wanyin was all alone with only a singular fan to help survive the heat.

Thinking about it, Jiang Wanyin could call someone to see if she could go to their house, and while she had someone on her mind she wouldn’t dare be the one to basically invite herself over. Not like her sister.

Letting out a sigh, the girl fell back against the floor, her bun getting squished during the fall. She licked her lips, the taste of the Coca-Cola lip balm still faint on her lips. She knew how her mother didn’t approve of it, saying how it wasn’t good for her lips or something that Jiang Wanyin could recall at the moment. But she didn’t really care, it tasted sweet and smelled good.

“Maybe I should go out and grab some ice cream,” Jiang Wanyin said to herself, glancing over at her smartphone that laid on the floor with her.

As if on cue, the device lit up, the default iPhone ringtone resounding throughout her room. Reaching out for it, she answered it and pressed it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey! What are you doing right now?” A familiar voice asked from the other side. It was obvious to Jiang Wanyin who it was without even looking at the phone.

“Nothing.”

“Then would you like to go grab some ice cream then?”

“...”

“I’ll pick you up in 15 minutes then!”

“Wha- I didn’t even get to respond-”

Jiang Wanyin removed the device from her ear to see that Nie Huaisang had hung up on her after deciding on the plans. Giving a small huff, she peeled herself from the floor and started to get ready.

Getting ready actually meant just throwing her phone and wallet into her purse and slinging over her shoulder, as well as applying the lip balm from earlier.

Trudging downstairs, Jiang Wanyin searched for her sandals, slipping them on once she found them.

It hadn’t even been 15 minutes and there was Nie Huaisang at her door, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, similar to Jiang Wanyin herself.

“I’m driving,” The taller girl said, snatching the keys from Nie Huaisang, a small smirk pulling at her lips.

“Why can’t I drive?” Nie Huaisang pouted, following Jiang Wanyin to her car.

Jiang Wanyin slid into the drivers seat, starting the vehicle and immediately cranking up the air conditioning. Ahh now this is what she had been needing. She sat there for at least a good minute, letting the icy cold air cool her down. She would’ve sat there longer if Nie Huaisang hadn’t cleared her throat, bringing Jiang Wanyin back to reality.

“Right ice cream.”

The two drove in a comfortable silence, Lana Del Ray playing softly from the Nie Huaisang’s phone that was connected to the radio.

When they reached the ice cream shop, Jiang Wanyin was reluctant to leave the car, however her desire for ice cream overruled her desire to just sit in the car.

Nie Huaisang was the first one out of the car followed by a reluctant Jiang Wanyin. The shorter girl walked besides her partner, grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers.

Jiang Wanyin’s eyes widened and her already warm face warmed up just a tad more at the gesture. However she didn’t remove her hand, finding it rather comforting, not that she’d ever admit it. Nie Huaisang just smiled to herself, pushing the door to the shop open and pulling Jiang Wanyin in with her.

The bell above their heads ringed, bringing the employees attention to the two raven haired teens, greeting them with a smile.

“So what will you get Jiang Wanyin?” Nie Huaisang asked, her face pressed against the glass, surveying the various flavors before her.

“Chocolate. Three scoops in a waffle cone.”

The short haired girl giggled at her plain response. Of course she’d get chocolate, that was Jiang Wanyin’s favorite after all.

“Then I’ll go with a classic vanilla, also three scoops,” she responded, turning to face the employee behind the register, Jiang Wanyin right behind her, wallet out and everything. Nie Huaisang looked up at her, a smile on her lips as she too had out her wallet.

“I’ll pay for you dear-“

“As if, I’m paying.”

Nie Huaisang shook her head at her partner. “I could never let my dear Jiang Wanyin pay for me, after all I’m the one who invited you so I should be paying.”

“Too late, I’m paying.” Jiang Wanyin swiftly handed the woman behind the counter the money, leaving Nie Huaisang to silently pout. A victorious smirk was dancing on the other girl’s face as she took the two cones.

“Come on, we’re in peoples way.”

Jiang Wanyin held out the vanilla ice cream to the short girl as they walked over to the counters to sit. They sat over in a corner, Jiang Wanyin leaning against the counter, licking at the chocolatey goodness.

Nie Huaisang watched, enthralled with the young woman before her. She slowly ate her own ice cream, barely registering that it was beginning to drip onto her pale hands, until Jiang Wanyin pointed it out.

“Careful, your ice cream's melting!”

Blinking out of her trance, Nie Huaisang quickly licked up the cone to catch all of it before a drop fell. “Thanks Jiang Wanyin,” She said with an embarrassed chuckle.

The raven haired female in front of her just rolled her eyes and continued to eat her cold treat, watching the people passing by outside, with the occasional glance at Nie Huaisang who was still staring at her.

Said girl was about halfway done by the time Jiang Wanyin finished her own ice cream, a drop of chocolate just far enough to not be reached by her tongue.

A small smirk danced across her lips, leaning towards Jiang Wanyin. “You’ve got a little something on your cheek dear~”

The girl turned towards the nearing Nie Huaisang, blinking as she felt the other girl lick that last drop of ice cream from her face. Her face immediately began to heat up and she turned around to hide her embarrassment.

“Mm it tastes just like you Jiang Wanyin~”

Jiang Wanyin’s face only reddened at the comment. “I told you not to do that kind of stuff in public,” she muttered.

“No one's paying attention to us, it’s fine!”

The female just grumbled a few incoherent words in response.

“I’ll get you back later,” Jiang Wanyin murmured, shooting a glance at Nie Huaisang.

“I’m looking forward to it~”